Up North Progressive

Rick Snyder and his lethal emergency manager law may finally be receiving the justice it deserves. On May 19, 2019, warrants were issued to seize the mobile devices of the former Governor and over sixty other state officials involved with the cover-up of the Flint water disaster. Included with the Governor’s Office were warrants for former employees of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Technology, Management and Budget, and Department of Health and Human Services. Attorney General Dana Nessel appointed Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud to handle the investigation into Snyder’s administration.

The AG’s office under the management of Bill Schuette brought charges on fifteen officials, some still working for the state. The new Solicitor General, using warrants signed by a Flint Judge, now has newly uncovered evidence hidden from or by the previous investigation, according to an FOIA request obtained by the Associated Press:

The warrants came after Hammoud this year reported that boxes of records were discovered in the basement of a state building, including phone extractions and a “trove” of other materials stored on hard drives that allegedly had not been turned over in response to the subpoenas.

The warrants include the devices of Dan Wyant, former director of the MDEQ, Lt. Governor Brian Calley, Snyder’s proxy Richard Baird, and former Chief of Staff Dick Posthumus.

Hammoud fired Todd Flood, the former special prosecutor working on the case for the past three years in April of 2019, accusing him of mishandling evidence. Flood’s investigation did lead to fifteen people being charged with various crimes related to the Flint crisis, but so far none of them have spent any time in prison for their involvement. Flood and his team of lawyers who worked on the case insist they all acted professionally.

As stated in recent motions, the prosecution is aware of substantial potential evidence that was not provided to the original prosecution team from the onset of the investigation … The team is currently in the process of obtaining this evidence through a variety of means, including search warrants. The team is also conducting a thorough review of existing and newly received evidence pertaining to the Flint water crisis.

Hammoud’s investigation with this new evidence will hopefully bring justice to the people of Flint who have been living with this crisis since 2014. The water in Flint is still undrinkable and the residents still rely on bottled water to drink, cook, and clean. Legionnaire’s Disease deaths caused by the contaminated water from the Flint River is now up to thirteen, with conservative estimates of ninety people total affected. Thousands of people were exposed to lead, including 6,000 children. Snyder’s lasting legacy of his administration will always be his emergency managers and the devastation they waged on the people of the state of Michigan. May this new investigation brings the consequences Rick Snyder deserves as soon as possible.