Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder plans to plead the Fifth in Flint lawsuit

A federal judge in Michigan’s Eastern District Court says she will wait to decide whether former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and four others will have to appear before a jury to testify in a civil lawsuit connected to the Flint water crisis.

U.S District Court Judge Judith Levy heard arguments from attorneys representing Snyder, his former aide Rich Baird, Howard Croft, the former director for Flint’s Department of Public Works, and former emergency managers, Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Early, who made their cases in a motion hearing Tuesday to halt subpoenas issued to their clients.

Nine former state officials were indicted on Jan. 14, 2021, for a total of 42 counts of charges related to the Flint water crisis, including Snyder who is facing two misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty, which he has denied. Croft was charged with willful neglect of duty. Baird received felony charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, official misconduct and extortion. Earley and Ambrose were charged with several counts of misconduct in office.

The former state officials have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges and are potential witnesses in a civil trial against two engineering companies.