Auditor: Official key to tracing contract refused interview

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A state official involved in a coronavirus contact-tracing contract that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer canceled refused to be interviewed by auditors who investigated. A July 31 letter released by Rep. Ann Bollin on Friday shows that Andrea Taverna instead referred auditors’ questions to her attorney. Taverna is a senior advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services. Bollin sought the inquiry into the handling of the contract. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office also is investigating how the state awarded the contract to a Democratic political firm to help contact and warn people who were potentially exposed to COVID-19.

Copyright 2020 WILX. All rights reserved.