In late 2020, Hammoud and Worthy presented evidence and testimony in secret before a one-judge grand jury in Genesee County. Judge David Newblatt in January 2021 issued indictments against nine individuals, including the former governor, for crimes related to the Flint water crisis.

But in June 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court dismissed the charges in a unanimous opinion that found the one-judge grant jury law allows judges to issue investigative subpoenas or arrest warrants, but does not permit judges to issue indictments.

When Nessel’s office exhausted its appeals of the high court opinion in October 2023, the Flint prosecution team said it would work with the Legislature to tweak laws preventing the grand jury dockets, journals, transcripts or records from being made public and preventing officials from discussing evidence or testimony presented during the proceeding.

"To allow the people of Flint the opportunity to know how and why they were exposed to lethal chemicals in their water is the very least that can be done," the statement said.

State law requires documents related to a grand jury indictment lasting more than 30 days to remain under seal at the Michigan Supreme Court in perpetuity. The only person able to access parts of the record are witnesses to prove they were granted immunity during the proceeding, and even then, the access is limited to the pertinent sections of the record.

Interested parties can request the record destroyed starting six years after the conclusion of the grand jury process. In the case of the Flint documents, the documents could be destroyed as earlier as 2027.

A separate section of the law prevents individuals from making known "to any other person any testimony, exhibits or secret proceedings obtained or used in connection with any grand jury inquiry." Violations of the law are considered a felony.

Reports and emails

Since the start of the Flint water crisis through January 2024, the attorney general’s office released roughly 110 documents related to its work on the issue, according to documents obtained by The News through a public records request.

The trove of documents released through the Freedom of Information Act includes legal contracts, emails, cost breakdowns, conflict wall policies and subpoenas. It also include a transition report submitted by Flood's Office of Special Counsel that detailed where the case stood in December 2018 as Nessel prepared to take office.

The 92-page report is replete with redactions of subpoenaed witnesses and polygraph results — both of which are exempted from disclosure by law — but includes pages of summaries of the criminal cases that had already been charged.

The report ends with a black box of redactions titled “Current investigation,” in which Flood presumably detailed potential next steps in the investigation.

The attorney general denied a Detroit News appeal seeking disclosure of the brief entry, arguing the department had been “transparent” with most of Flood’s findings, but the paragraph in question was protected by exemptions that shield communications of an "advisory nature."

“I can share with you that this section included very preliminary speculation from Special Assistant Attorney General Flood, without supporting evidence,” Kim Bush, a spokeswoman for Nessel, said in a statement.

In other recent requests, The News asked for Hammoud and Worthy’s emails where they used key words such as “Flint,” “Snyder” or “Newblatt.”

The office this month said the documents could be prepared for $2,200 and Worthy’s office cited a $400 bill. The News is working to obtain lower cost estimates from the agencies.

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