EAST LANSING, Mich. — Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and his wife, Stephanie Chatfield, pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal charges brought by the Attorney General's office with one of the defense lawyers vowing to fight allegations the Chatfields embezzled from a nonprofit organization.

The Chatfields appeared over Zoom and said little during their arraignment in Ingham County District Court, the first court hearing they've participated in since Attorney General Dana Nessel unveiled the charges against them on April 16.

Lee Chatfield, 35, of Levering held the top position in the state House for two years, 2019 and 2020. He departed the Legislature because of term limits at the end of 2020.

His charges have ignited a debate in the state Legislature over whether Lansing needs new ethics and transparency standards to combat officeholders' ability to collect and spend money in secret through nonprofit groups. Lee Chatfield's main nonprofit account, the Peninsula Fund, reported raising $1.3 million from donors whose names didn't have to be disclosed during his two years as speaker.

However, Mary Chartier, Lee Chatfield's lawyer, said her client had been "wrongfully maligned" and had faced what she described as speculation, rumor, innuendo and false claims.

"After two and a half years of being falsely accused, he is looking forward to his day in court and fighting this," Chartier said at one point during the Thursday morning hearing.

Nessel's investigation into Lee Chatfield began in January 2022 after his sister-in-law, Rebekah Chatfield, accused him of sexual assaulting her. Nessel's office declined to bring charges on those allegations.

Lee and Stephanie Chatfield sat at a table as they appeared over Zoom on Thursday morning. Asked by Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt if he understood the charges against him and the potential punishment, Lee Chatfield, who was once considered a rising start in Republican politics, replied, "Yes."

Among the 13 charges Lee Chatfield is facing is one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a felony that would bring up to 20 years behind bars.

William Rollstin, an assistant attorney general, described it as a "serious offense" in his remarks.

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