FLINT, Mich. – As the Flint water crisis drags on, so does the cost of the investigation. Gov. Rick Snyder is now making the decision to spend more than $1 million on outside council, including a top-notch criminal defense attorney who will receive $800,000.
A group of local defense attorneys is questioning the governor’s decision to make taxpayers pay the legal bills.
Snyder is adamant that he did not commit any crimes in the Flint water crisis, which has some wondering out loud why he hired a top criminal defense lawyer and why he is making taxpayers pay for it.
"Why are we funding the possible criminal problems of a billionaire?" attorney David Lee said.
The new attorneys are in addition to the dozens of attorneys at the governor's disposal through his state office and the attorney general's office. About $400,000 is going to civil attorney Eugene Driker and $800,000 is going to criminal defense expert Brian Lennon, who specializes in defending white-collar crimes. The fact that taxpayers are paying for it has some local criminal defense attorneys crying foul.
"Every penny of that money should be going to helping the people of Flint," criminal defense attorney James Burdick said.
Three local criminal defense attorneys came together to call out the governor, insisting it's not about politics, it's about the ability to pay, saying only people who cannot afford a lawyer should be using tax dollars to pay for legal fees. Snyder's net worth is estimated at more than $200 million. Flint residents, along with the rest of the states' taxpayers, are paying his legal fees.
"What they shouldn't be expected to do is pay the lawyer fees for the person who may have caused the problem," attorney Shannon Marie Smith said. "That is absurd."
The governor's representative said the private attorneys are being hired to help with the massive number of requests for documents, insisting the state's staff attorneys cant keep up.
The representative said in a statement, "The money is being used to pay the cost of outside counsel that is assisting the governor's office and the attorney general's office in processing massive quantities of emails and documents related to the Flint water crisis that we are releasing in the interest of transparency and to be responsive to investigations and court cases."
The representative insisted the $800,000 to a top criminal defense lawyer is not to defend the governor in criminal charges, writing, "There are no criminal charges the governor needs to defend himself against because he didn't do anything criminal."
Burdick said he is skeptical.
"First of all, the governor has already had a review by employees on the governor's staff reviewing the FOIA requests and the documents that were released," Burdich said.
He suggested the high-priced private criminal defense attorney is looking at emails to protect the governor from possible future charges.
"There's a question about whether it's nonfeasance, misfeasance or malfeasance," Burdich said.
Smith said the governor's private attorneys and their assistants are being paid top dollar, not at rates of court-appointed attorneys.
"We're seeing a law firm that has paralegals making more per hour than lawyers who are appointed throughout this state," Smith said.
David Lee said a state board never should have approved the $1.2 million contracts and wants the money returned.
"Give that $1.2 million back and pay for your own legal fees. It's that simple," Lee said.
That's not likely to happen. The governor's representative told Local 4 News that the governor made the decision and doesn't need anyone's approval, writing, "The state Administrative Board did not approve the contracts as state law does not require such an approval. The governor's office notified the ad board of the contracts in the spirit of transparency, not to seek their approval."
The governor's office also confirming that several members of the Department of Environmental Quality have been approved for state taxpayer aid for outside council.