LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Former Gov. Rick Snyder says news coverage about search warrants being used to get his state-issued cellphone and computer from government storage in the Flint water investigation is "very sloppy and misleading."
Snyder tweeted Tuesday he gave his phone and other devices to the attorney general's office before leaving office, and he cannot say why the office executed a warrant on itself.
Snyder's lawyer, Brian Lennon, issued a lengthy statement. He says he reached out several times to Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud offering to explain the history of document production and agreements with ex-special prosecutor Todd Flood, but received no response.
"We have cooperated and made every effort to continue that cooperation," Lennon said.
The attorney general's office says warrants are being executed in the "pursuit of justice for the people of Flint."
The water crisis in Flint was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in U.S. history. Untreated water leached lead from pipes and into Flint's homes and businesses while cost-cutting financial managers — appointed by Snyder — were running the city.
The investigation has led to charges against 15 current or former government officials, including two who served in the Cabinet of Snyder, a Republican who left office in December. But no one is behind bars, and some Flint residents believe key players who could have prevented the lead debacle are getting off easy.
"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," Hammoud said in a statement Monday following the AP's reporting. "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."
One warrant, signed May 19, lists all content from Snyder's state-issued cellphone, iPad and computer hard drive. Similar information was sought from the devices of 33 employees who worked in his office, 11 in the Department of Environmental Quality and 22 in the Department of Health and Human Services.
The evidence was apparently initially obtained by Flood with investigative subpoenas. Because it has been kept in a division of the attorney general's office, Hammoud took the unusual step of securing a warrant to search another part of the office. She has been managing the probe since January.
The warrants seek data from the devices of individuals who have been charged in the probe but also uncharged officials such as Snyder, former Environmental Quality director Dan Wyant and various people who worked in Snyder's office including former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, top aide Richard Baird and chief of staff Dick Posthumus.
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. She sought long breaks in the criminal cases to look at the boxes and any other evidence, but judges declined to suspend the cases for six months.
Flood was ousted as special prosecutor in April after leading the three-year investigation. Nobody in Snyder's office has been charged.
Hammoud accused Flood of mishandling the production of records and other evidence collected from state agencies. He has defended his work, saying he acted professionally.
