Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has refused an invitation to appear before the Michigan House Oversight Committee.
In a letter to Republican committee chair Matt Hall, she said he’s been complicit in spreading disinformation about the integrity of the November election.
Hall said he was responding to an interview he heard with Benson where she expressed a willingness to appear. He says the invitation will remain open.
“I’m hoping she will come in because I think there’s no one better than the Secretary of State to have a conversation with and answer questions about how we can run this election smoother and how we can restore confidence in our state’s elections,” Hall said.
Benson said Hall helped undermine that confidence by allowing Rudy Giuliani and Republican volunteer Mellissa Carone to make false claims about how the elections were run.
Giuliani is one of President Donald Trump’s election lawyers.
“To hold a hearing to give a platform for people to repeat those debunked theories is not conducive to strengthening our democracy," said Tracy Wimmer, a spokeswoman for Benson.
Wimmer said Benson is willing to show up at some point to discuss ways to improve future elections.