Rick Snyder will take the 5th if called to testify in Flint Water trial
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who faces misdemeanor charges in the Flint water crisis, wants to avoid testifying in a civil trial involving engineering firms that are being sued over liability for lead-contaminated water.
Snyder’s attorneys said he would invoke his right to remain silent if called as a witness in the ongoing civil trial in federal court in Ann Arbor.
"To be clear, Gov. Snyder maintains his innocence," Brian Lennon said in a court filing. "But as the Supreme Court has recognized, the Fifth Amendment privilege is available to the innocent."
A judge has scheduled a March 15 hearing on Snyder’s request that a subpoena be set aside, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Snyder earlier sat for a deposition, which is an on-the-record interview with lawyers in the lawsuit. But that was before he was charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty, Lennon noted.
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Attorneys for four Flint children claim Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newman were negligent in not doing more to get the city to properly treat water that was being pulled from the Flint River in 2014-15. Corrosive water caused lead to leach from service lines serving homes.
They were not part of a $626 million settlement between Flint residents and the state of Michigan, the city and two other parties.