LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said he has “no reason to be concerned” about being charged in the investigation into the lead-tainted water crisis in Flint, as publicly financed legal fees in the case rise.
Attorney General Bill Schuette charged four more people this week, including two emergency managers appointed by Snyder who were running Flint when the city was using the Flint River for drinking water in 2014-15. The water wasn’t treated for corrosion, causing lead to leach from pipes and fixtures and creating a disaster.
“I have no reason to be concerned but, again, I can’t speak for the attorney general,” Snyder told the Detroit Free Press when asked if he’s worried about criminal charges.
Meanwhile, legal fees for criminal and civil lawyers have reached $4.9 million, the newspaper reported (https://on.freep.com/2h51dml ).
“The bulk of their work is document production - a huge amount of document production,” Snyder said of his lawyers. “Most of it is out there already, but as they keep on asking, we keep on responding.”
The governor said documents are being requested by Schuette’s investigators and the U.S. attorney. Snyder told The Detroit News he has not been interviewed by Schuette’s special prosecutor, Todd Flood.
Former Flint emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley have been charged with ignoring the dangers of the Flint water treatment plant while conspiring to sell bonds through false pretenses to support construction of a pipeline to Lake Huron.
“They worked hard in good faith, I believe,” Snyder said of Earley and Ambrose.
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