John Engler (Wikipedia photo by Chuck Grimmett)
A good political spat is brewing in Lansing.
This one is between Attorney General Dana Nessel, a liberal Democrat, and former Gov. John Engler, a conservative Republican who served briefly as interim president of Michigan State University after the Larry Nassar scandal became public. Engler was forced out of office, accused of being insensitve and the wrong leader for the school.
Nessel took a shot at Engler for saying he wasn't in the state to interview with her office about the Nassar scandal. At the same time, she noted in a letter this week to the school's board of trustees, that Engler was at courtside at MSU Spartan home games.
On Wednesday, Engler fired back in a letter to Nessel's office, saying he won't sit for an interview with her investigators because the office is biased, David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press reports.
"What has become clear is the ethical standards and objectivity required for the conduct of an investigation are inapplicable to your approach to Mr. Engler," says a letter sent by his attorney Seth B. Waxman of Dickinson Wright to Assistant Attorney Christina Grossi, who has been running the case for Nessel.
"Your conduct diverges so drastically from the most basic principles of fairness, justice and what is right that you have undermined the integrity of your own investigation, which may be a result of your lack of experience handling criminal prosecutions (this being your first), let alone a high-profile criminal investigation. Your actions also form a claim of prosecutorial misconduct and constitute grounds for your immediate recusal from the investigation."
