Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the closure of the Department’s investigation into Michigan State University (MSU) related to the sexual abuse scandal involving a former MSU employee. The investigation was reopened after receiving over 6,000 documents that had been previously withheld by the University until earlier this year.
In 2018, former Attorney General Bill Schuette initiated an independent investigation into MSU’s handling of the Larry Nassar case at the request of the MSU Board of Trustees, who promised full cooperation. The University provided more than 105,000 documents but withheld over 6,000 documents citing attorney-client privilege.
The newly released 6,014 documents were received in March and April of this year. After a thorough review, the Department issued a report concluding that there was no new relevant information found within these documents. The report stated:
“MSU has repeatedly justified withholding the documents because they contained information that was allegedly protected by the attorney-client privilege. Our review has revealed that this justification was not always appropriate. A significant number, if not a majority, of the documents did not appear to us to be covered by the privilege. Accordingly, there was no justifiable reason to withhold those documents for any period of time, let alone an extended period. Further, the documents that contained or at least arguably contained privileged information did not offer any new insight into MSU’s handling of Nassar’s abuse or who knew what about it and when. Indeed, most of the privileged information was not even related to those issues but instead to tangential issues such as public relations, insurance, and funding.”
“This is a disappointing close to our years-long investigation into the abuse that hundreds of young women were subjected to over more than a decade,” said Nessel. “While I appreciate that MSU eventually cooperated, the withheld documents provided victims with a sense of false hope for no justifiable reason."
Nessel added: “Simply put, there remains no fulfilling answer to how this abuse was able to be perpetuated on so many for so long without MSU or anyone else putting a stop to it."
Addressing survivors directly, AG Nessel said: “I commend you for your bravery in coming forward and sharing your stories and for never giving up on pursuing justice and transparency."
"While the investigation is closed," she continued, "this is not where this story ends. You have created a sisterhood that has worked together to create systemic changes nationwide ensuring schools are better prepared to prevent, investigate and stop abuse; ensuring survivors are believed and treated better in judicial systems; and changing public perception regarding sexual assault."
"Your advocacy," she concluded," resilience and strength have left this world a better place... While this may not be the justice you sought; I do believe changes in how we treat sexual abuse on campuses and in courtrooms alike are forms of justice impacting generations nationwide.”
The Attorney General's Cold Case Sexual Assault and Domestic Abuse Unit met with victims and their families to share findings from withheld documents. The Department plans to create a publicly available digital folder containing all these documents within twelve months due to extensive redactions required for accessibility standards. Meanwhile, credentialed media can request copies from the Department’s media team while public requests can be made through its FOIA office.
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