Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is charged with two counts of intentional misconduct arising from the Flint water crisis, according to online court documents. The crisis, which began in 2014, left the city of Flint’s drinking water contaminated with lead and some have blamed it for an outbreak of the 2016 Legionnaires ’disease that killed at least 12 people.
Duty negligence is a felony punishable by one year in prison or a fine of up to $ 1,000.
Brian Lennon, Snyder’s attorney general, told CBS News: “We believe there is no evidence to support any criminal charges against Governor Snyder.”
“We have asked the Michigan Attorney General’s Office for a copy or at least a confirmation of the charges before the lawsuit tomorrow, and it has yet to provide us with any,” Lennon said. “It’s hard for us to comment on something we haven’t seen yet.”
Howard Croft, a former director of the Flint Department of Public Works, also faces two counts of intentional misconduct, according to court documents. Croft’s attorney confirmed the charges to CBS News Wednesday night and said it would be delivered at 8 a.m. Thursday.
Jamie White, a lawyer representing Croft, he told CBS News on Tuesday they were told they were expecting charges, but were not told what the charges would be.
White insisted that Croft did nothing wrong and said, “The idea that because he was the city’s works manager and therefore he knew the water was polluted and he didn’t do anything about it, it is not supported by the facts “.
Attorney General Dana Nessel, Attorney General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Attorney Kym Worthy are scheduled to speak at a news conference Thursday morning to announce the outcome of the state’s criminal investigation into the crisis.
Representatives of Rich Baird, a former aide to Snyder, also confirmed they were told to wait for charges.
A lawyer for former health director Nick Lyon would not confirm if Lyon was told to wait for charges, but he told CBS News that any indictment filed against his client would be “an absolute parody of justice.”
He had previously been charged in Lyon involuntary manslaughter in connection with the crisis arising from an investigation that began while Snyder was still in office. The charges against Lyon and several other officials were fallen abruptly in 2019 and a new investigation was launched under Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The crisis began in 2014, when the city of Flint changed the source of water from Detroit’s treated water to the Flint River in an effort to save money. The city could not treat the water properly, which caused excess lead by leaching the old pipes into the water and was pumped directly into Flint’s homes.
According to The Associated Press, authorities found 90 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Genesee County, where Flint is located, including 12 dead. Some experts determined that the water treatment system did not have enough chlorine to control legionella bacteria.
However, legal representatives in Lyon are discussing the cause of the outbreak. They noted a 2019 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found evidence that the same strain of legionella bacteria has infected people at a local hospital since 2008, long before the city changed its source. water.
According to Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley, the replacement of domestic water service lines is “almost complete.” Of the 26,750 lines that have been excavated, less than 500 remain to be reviewed, Neeley said in a statement.
Adam Brewster, Sarah Barth, Adriana Diaz, Zoe Christen Jones, Jordan Freiman and The Associated Press contributed to the information.