Flint water plant | Susan J. Demas
Republican lawmakers in Michigan are asking for documentation on how much the state Attorney General’s Office spent on the seven years of prosecutions related to the Flint Water Crisis that ultimately came up with no convictions.
Due to a switch of the City of Flint’s water supply in 2014 without proper care to ensure prevention of lead contamination, despite citizen concerns about the water they were drinking and cleaning with, many of the city’s residents were effectively poisoned.
The prosecution in regards to the crisis began in April 2016 when Republican then-state Attorney General Bill Schuette charged an employee of the City of Flint and two Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees for their roles in the crisis.
Current state Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, took over the office in 2018 and in 2021 her office announced charges for Republican former Governor Rick Snyder, his aides and officials in Flint for their response to citizens’ concerns about the water.
Oversight Chair of the new Weaponization of State Government Subcommittee Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Alto) sent a letter to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office Wednesday requesting itemized lists of costs and state funds spent on the Flint prosecutions.
“This request falls within the Subcommittee’s mandate to ensure transparency, accountability, and the responsible use of state resources in governmental operations,” Rigas wrote.
The subcommittee has three Republican members, Rigas and Reps. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) and Jason Woolford (R-Howell) while two Democrats also serve on the committee, Reps Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) .
All Republican members of the subcommittee signed the letter.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has received the request and it is being reviewed, Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for the office said Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday also marked the committee’s first meeting with Rigas setting a mandate for the committee to address what she called a “growing threat of political prosecution” by state departments and agencies.
She said the issue of politically motivated prosecution escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic where many Michiganders railed against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown orders to slow the spread of the virus. As the state suffered economic hardship amid the pandemic, some restaurant and other business owners defied COVID safety protocols and kept their doors open in spite of Whitmer’s executive orders, which were later deemed unconstitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court.
Rigas herself was charged for her actions during a May 2020 protest on the State Capitol lawn called “Operation Haircut” where she and other hairstylists and barbers gathered with hundreds of participants to rail against the orders. The charges were eventually dropped.
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