Posted on Jul 21, 2021
Potential Obstruction and Coverup: Top Officials' State-Issued Phones Mysteriously 'Wiped' of...
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Numerous potentially key pieces of evidence in the ongoing Flint water crisis investigation that should have been retained “indefinitely” were deleted by government actors in the state of Michigan. That’s according to a bombshell Wednesday report in The Intercept and the Detroit Metro Times.
The report says several officials close to then-GOP governor Rick Snyder had their state-issued cellular phones “wiped” of all text messages during a time period crucial to the criminal investigation.
Dr. Eden Wells was the onetime chief medical executive for the Wolverine State. She obtained that job in May 2015 — at least seven months after the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was aware of a deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in Flint which was ultimately determined to have been caused by increased lead levels in the city’s municipal water supply. What Wells knew and when she knew it would have been highly relevant to the since-shuttered initial inquiry — if investigators had the records and could prove it, of course.
The report says several officials close to then-GOP governor Rick Snyder had their state-issued cellular phones “wiped” of all text messages during a time period crucial to the criminal investigation.
Dr. Eden Wells was the onetime chief medical executive for the Wolverine State. She obtained that job in May 2015 — at least seven months after the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was aware of a deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in Flint which was ultimately determined to have been caused by increased lead levels in the city’s municipal water supply. What Wells knew and when she knew it would have been highly relevant to the since-shuttered initial inquiry — if investigators had the records and could prove it, of course.
Potential Obstruction and Coverup: Top Officials' State-Issued Phones Mysteriously 'Wiped' of...
Posted from lawandcrime.com
Flint
Cell Phones
Water
Posted >1 y ago
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"should have been" is VERY different from "required to be." The "anonymous official" quoted even states that standard retention policy for the governor (who we can probably assume has the strictest level of retention) is one year - which is long LONG past. The "anonymous official" goes on to state that it SHOULD BE kept indefinitely "in the case of an investigation." If there is no requirement to maintain those records, then we cannot fault them for failing to do so. There is a very real question about tampering with / destroying evidence. It will hinge largely on intent. If the intent was to delete incriminating texts (which it appears is very possible in this circumstance) then there is a case. However, if the phones were wiped as a "routine data purge" then it is a different story.
As an example, I work for a state government. My e-mails, by state protocol on the state computer, running state software, are set to self-destruct after 3 months, unless they are deliberately and actively saved. That is the default, which I had nothing to do with. If I were to come under investigation, I am sure that one of the last things I would think about would be "let me go and remove the self-destruct on all of my relevant e-mails." And if I come under investigation three months after the relevant e-mails, then those e-mails are already gone, without any forethought.
I am *not* saying that is what happened here. Just kind of saying what *could* happen. Especially as all of the phones in question had ALL texts before a specific date removed. Not a gap with before and after, and not selected texts. Everything before a specific date COULD be a similar data purge system.
I know next to nothing about this situation, but I do believe these folks are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Things don't look real good for them right now, but we also don't know all the facts.
As an example, I work for a state government. My e-mails, by state protocol on the state computer, running state software, are set to self-destruct after 3 months, unless they are deliberately and actively saved. That is the default, which I had nothing to do with. If I were to come under investigation, I am sure that one of the last things I would think about would be "let me go and remove the self-destruct on all of my relevant e-mails." And if I come under investigation three months after the relevant e-mails, then those e-mails are already gone, without any forethought.
I am *not* saying that is what happened here. Just kind of saying what *could* happen. Especially as all of the phones in question had ALL texts before a specific date removed. Not a gap with before and after, and not selected texts. Everything before a specific date COULD be a similar data purge system.
I know next to nothing about this situation, but I do believe these folks are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Things don't look real good for them right now, but we also don't know all the facts.
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Gee - sorta like 3k missing e-mails, broken cell phones, and bleach bit. Gotta love the hypocrisy from both the left and the right.
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