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Snyder halts some Flint water investigations

Posted at 7:36 PM, May 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-26 19:36:08-04

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is calling for a halt of administrative investigations into how two state agencies dealt with the Flint drinking water crisis, after being warned they are hampering state and federal criminal probes.

Snyder’s office released letters Thursday from state Attorney General Bill Schuette and U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. The emails raised concerns about a state police investigation of the Department of Environmental Quality’s role in the lead contamination of the city’s water supply.

Schuette also complained about inquiries targeting the state Department of Health and Human Services being conducted by the state auditor general and the department’s inspector general.

He said they could have a “chilling effect” on the criminal probes and might cause obstruction of justice.

Charges already have been filed against two DEQ employees. A Flint municipal official has entered a no-contest plea.