Rick Snyder fires back at search warrant reports in Flint probe

Former Gov. Rick Snyder came out swinging at reports of warrants being issued for his state-issued cellphone and computer as part of the Flint water investigation.

Snyder and 66 current or former state officials were named by authorities to have their devices seized from government storage Monday.

On Tuesday Snyder clapped back, calling the reports "sloppy and misleading."

"I gave my phone and all that stuff to the AG's office before I left office.  Why the AG's office is executing a search warrant on itself I cannot say," he tweeted.

His lawyer, Brian Lennon, issued a lengthy statement, saying 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. 
 
Lennon says Snyder's attorneys have cooperated with the probe. 
 
The attorney general's office says warrants are being executed in the "pursuit of justice for the people of Flint."

Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who is helping with the probe, confirmed they executed a series of search warrants related to the criminal investigation of Flint's lead-contaminated water in 2014-15 and a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. 
 
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.

 
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 former special prosecutor Todd 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.

 

-Information from the Associated Press was used for this report-