Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer received an encrypted email related to her administration’s response to a local water crisis in an apparent attempt to hide sensitive communication from the public, a lawsuit alleges.
The email was disguised in a Greek alphabet font and sent by Andrew Leavitt, a consultant for Michigan’s energy department, to Whitmer’s top energy adviser, Kara Cook, in September 2021, according to a class-action lawsuit filed.
“Fresh off the press. As I warned, there are some major red flags. “It appears we are back to square one having learned nothing from Flint,” reads Leavitt’s decrypted email, which was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday following a court filing in the case in June.
Leavitt served as a consultant for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
The use of the Greek language and alphabet “appears to be calculated to conceal the statements,” the court filing states, noting that Leavitt “prefaced his serious concerns about the water crisis with reference to his previous warnings and to state and city defendants.” . “Not learning from the Flint tragedy.”
Since the email was written in Greek, it would not have been included in public records requests for government communications containing words like “Flint” or “red flags.”
Michigan’s public records department cannot electronically search for material written using the Greek alphabet, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
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Leavitt’s encrypted email only came to light in the discovery phase of the class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan, against Whitmer, the state of Michigan, the city and others.
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The plaintiffs in the case argue that “despite having clear information that there were increasing levels of lead in Benton Harbor’s municipal water, the state and city defendants lied to residents that their tap water was safe and recommended corrective measures.” that they knew were ineffective.
The lawsuit was filed in November 2021, the same day a federal judge approved a $626 million settlement for victims of the infamous lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Whitmer stated earlier this year that she has “always supported greater transparency when it comes to government,” but has so far refused to use her executive powers to reverse a policy that exempts her office from Legislation requests. Freedom of Information.
The 52-year-old governor was sworn in for a second term in January after winning her re-election race in November.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn