A Michigan lawmaker has appeared in federal court for the first time since being charged with putting a phony employee on his public payroll.
A not-guilty plea was entered Tuesday for Sen. Bert Johnson, a Democrat from Highland Park. He's accused of borrowing $14,000 from a woman and repaying her by putting her on his payroll as a community liaison.
The government says Glynis Thornton was paid $23,000 but did no work in 2014. She's been cooperating with investigators since getting caught in a separate corruption case involving bribes for a Detroit school principal.
Johnson declined to comment outside court. But his lawyer, Cyril Hall, says the senator can prove that Thornton performed work for his office.
