Ex-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder charged with willful neglect of duty related to Flint water crisis
Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and former Flint Public Works director Howard Croft were each charged Wednesday with two counts of willful neglect of duty as part of an investigation into the Flint water crisis, according to court documents.
The charges are misdemeanors, punishable with up to one year in prison or a fine of up to $1,000, the state’s penal code shows.
CNN has reached out to an attorney for Snyder and an attorney for Croft for comment on the charges.
Twelve people died and more than 80 were sickened as a result of two waves of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Flint during the water crisis.
BBC News
By Gianna Palmer
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After months of delay and denial by state officials, action is being taken over lead in the water supply in the Michigan city of Flint. But residents say it s too little, too late.
While visiting nearby Detroit this week, President Barack Obama addressed the disaster that has left Flint s nearly 100,000 residents without safe tap water and at risk of lead poisoning. If I was a parent out there I would be beside myself that my kids health could be at risk, President Obama said on Wednesday, adding that he had signed an emergency declaration over the weekend authorising federal aid for Flint.
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In a statement, Snyder s attorney Brian Lennon said the charges were wholly without merit, adding Snyder s lawyers were confident he would be fully exonerated if this flimsy case goes to trial. These unjustified allegations do nothing to resolve a painful chapter in the history of our state, Lennon said. Today s actions merely perpetrate an outrageous political persecution.
Flint has been exposed to extremely high levels of lead since 2014 when city and state officials switched the city s water supply from the Detroit Water System to the contaminated Flint River in an effort to cut costs.
The switch was supposed to be temporary while a new supply line to Lake Huron was completed. When the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality failed to treat the corrosive water, it ate into the city s iron and lead water pipes and leached into the drinking water.
Former Governor Rick Snyder will fight criminal charges accusing him of being complicit in the contamination of Flint’s drinking water that poisoned thousands of residents.
Former Gov. Rick Snyder stays silent as a barrage of reporters asks questions after his arraignment on charges related to the Flint water crisis on Thursday outside the Genesee County Jail in downtown Flint. (Cody Scanla/ MLive.com via AP)
FLINT, Mich. (CN) Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder appeared in court Thursday morning to plead not guilty to state charges of willful neglect stemming from the contaminated-water crisis in Flint that began during his time in office.