First, they were suspended—but with pay. Now, thanks to the fact that Attorney General Dana Nessel’s team has dropped criminal charges against them in order to reopen the investigation into the Flint Water Crisis, former Snyder officials who may have been responsible for poisoning the people of Flint (or part of the attempt to cover up what happened) are being invited back to work.
According to a Monday report by The Detroit News, multiple Snyder-era officials are about to be invited to return to serve in the administration of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Nancy Peeler and Robert Scott, who were accused of covering up a 2015 report about the level of lead in the blood of Flint’s children, could return to work at the Department of Health and Human Services as soon as June 24.
Environmental regulators Patrick Cook, Michael Prysby, and Stephen Busch are also being invited back. Cook was accused of failing to take corrective action and of misleading the federal EPA about corrosion controls. According to the Detroit News report, Prysby and Busch were on paid suspension after taking plea deals last year and agreeing to testify in other cases.
Former Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, who was formerly charged with involuntary manslaughter, had already left the job. However former Chief Medical Executive Dr. Eden Wells, who was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, was never even suspended—last year, she took a job as an “advisory physician” with the department, a job specifically created for her by outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to protect Wells from being dismissed by incoming Gov. Whitmer.
Daily Kos reached out to Gov. Whitmer, Attorney General Nessel, and Flint Mayor Dr. Karen Weaver, but none of their offices responded in time for the deadline for this article. Flint resident Eileen Hayes, the executive director of Michigan Faith in Action and an organizer with the Michigan Poor People’s Campaign, told Daily Kos that the announcement “feels like a betrayal and a gut punch. It's not bad enough they were already being paid, which is a travesty, but being invited back to work and there are people here who are still hurting … it's an outrage that our citizens are being hurt like this,” she said.
Hayes added that Flint residents have been patient with the legal process, “knowing this was the thing that will give us accountability,” but hearing last week that the charges were being dropped was “hurtful.”
“The only thing I can think of now that could make this better is if the charges are re-introduced down the line, make [the charges] tougher, and bring more people into accountability. But right now it's not feeling good,” she added.
Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud, who took over the Flint criminal cases in January, and Attorney General Nessel have announced that they will hold a community meeting with Flint residents on June 28 to explain the latest developments. Let’s hope they also have a good reason why the people responsible for poisoning Flint haven’t yet faced a single real consequence for their actions.
Dawn Wolfe is a freelance writer and journalist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This post was written and reported through our Daily Kos freelance program.