Flint Official Charged With Manslaughter As Lead Crisis Continues — Transcript

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1. 0:00AFTER FAR
2. 0:01TOO MANY DAYS THE RESIDENTS OF FLINT, MICHIGAN ARE STILL
3. 0:05SUFFERING FROM IRRESPONSIBLE AND MALICIOUS DECISIONS OF THEIR
4. 0:14GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR WATER SUPPLY.
5. 0:17WE
6. 0:18HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD NEWS, BUT WE WANT TO REMIND YOU HOW
7. 0:21LONG THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN GOING ON.
8. 0:25IT HAS BEEN AT LEAST 1036
9. 0:27DAYS SINCE IT WAS CLEAR THAT FLINT HAD A MAJOR PROBLEM.
10. 0:34WE
11. 0:38ARE TALKING ABOUT OVER 1000 DAYS THAT WE HAVE KNOWN THAT THEY ARE
12. 0:45ISSUES THERE.
13. 0:46PEOPLE STILL CAN'T USE THE WATER THERE.
14. 0:54WE'VE GOT
15. 0:55SOME GOOD NEWS, BUT TO PUT IT IN CONTEXT THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT
16. 0:57HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG.
17. 1:00BUT LET'S GET TO THE GOOD NEWS.
18. 1:14THE
19. 1:15GOOD NEWS IS THAT FEDERAL CHARGES HAVE NOW BEEN FILED
20. 1:19AGAINST THEM.
21. 1:28THAT PARTICULAR BACTERIA IS NOT THE ONLY
22. 1:30BACTERIA THAT AFFECTS THE PIPES IN FLINT.
23. 1:58BUT IT IS A DANGEROUS
24. 2:08ONE.
25. 2:10THE OTHER OFFICIALS ARE NOT FACING NEARLY AS SERIOUS CHARGES
26. 2:16BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T ACT IN A WAY
27. 2:18THAT LED TO DEATHS, BUT IT IS GOOD TO SEE A CONTINUATION OF
28. 2:23THE ARREST AND WARRANTS THAT
29. 2:24HAVE BEEN GOING OUT.
30. 2:2512 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE. 12.
31. 2:29IT WOULD BE EASY FOR PEOPLE TO WRITE THIS OFF AS BACTERIA IN
32. 2:33THE WATER, BUT WHEN YOU KNOW THAT IT IS LEGIONNAIRES AND IT
33. 2:39COULD KILL PEOPLE ñ THE IDEA THAT YOU WOULD NOT ONLY SLOW
34. 2:41ROLL MAKING IT CLEAR IT IS THERE SO PEOPLE CAN TAKE STEPS NOT TO
35. 2:45EXPOSE HER FAMILY TO IT, BUT
36. 2:46THAT THEN YOU WOULD STOP THE INFORMATION FROM BEING RELEASED,
37. 2:51I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER IS NECESSARY THE
38. 2:58CORRECT CRIME HERE.
39. 3:00THERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN QUITE A BIT OF FORETHOUGHT THAT LED TO
40. 3:03THIS.
41. 3:04I COULDN'T TELL FROM THE STORY BECAUSE IT RESULTED IN THE
42. 3:08DEATH OF AT LEAST ONE PERSON.
43. 3:09CAN YOU FACE 12 COUNTS OF THIS
44. 3:13SAME THING?
45. 3:14I WOULD NOT CHANGE THE NATURE OF THE TRIAL IF IT
46. 3:22GETS THAT FAR.
47. 3:23HE CAN PLEAD OUT TO SOMETHING ELSE.
48. 3:27THAT IS SOMETIMES IS THE CASE WHEN YOU ARE CHARGED WITH
49. 3:30MULTIPLE THINGS.
50. 3:31JUST TO RUN DOWN THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE
51. 3:37BEEN CHARGED.
52. 3:39YES OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE CHARGES DO HAPPEN TO
53. 3:46PEOPLE IN AMERICA.
54. 3:47IS UP TO 15 THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE
55. 3:52BEEN CHARGED WITH FLINTS WATER CRISIS.
56. 3:55AT THIS POINT I HAVE NO
57. 3:56IDEA IF YOU WILL END UP GETTING ANY SERIOUS TIME IN JAIL.
58. 4:01GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HAVE A
59. 4:03DEGREE OF PROTECTION, MAYBE NOT TO THE EXTENT OF COPS DO.
60. 4:09THE
61. 4:10ACTUAL, THE DECISIONS THAT LED TO THAT PROBLEM AND THE LARGER
62. 4:14PROBLEM SINCE THEN WERE NOT
63. 4:16LIMITED TO THE EXERCISE OF THIS ONE GUY.
64. 4:20I THINK THOSE PEOPLE
65. 4:22WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOMEONE AT A
66. 4:23LOWER LEVEL GO AWAY FOR THIS.
67. 4:27BUT OF COURSE IT IS MUCH BIGGER.
68. 4:34HE WASN'T THE ONLY PERSON TO
69. 4:36MAKE DECISIONS THAT RESULTED IN THESE STATS.
70. 4:42HE'S IN THERE FOR MANSLAUGHTER, ALSO FOR
71. 4:43OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE CHARGES.
72. 4:45A TERM THAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC
73. 4:47WILL BECOME FAMILIAR WITH.
74. 4:52I'M NOT SURE THE MICHIGAN ATTY.
75. 4:58GEN.'S NAME ñ IT'S AN INTERESTING POLITICAL DYNAMIC
76. 5:01FOR THIS IN MICHIGAN BECAUSE HE IS A REPUBLICAN WHO IS BRINGING
77. 5:07THESE CHARGES, HE IS SEEN AS A POTENTIAL GUBERNATORIAL
78. 5:11CANDIDATE IN 2018 WHEN MICHIGAN HAS THEIR GUBERNATORIAL
79. 5:15ELECTION.
80. 5:16HE IS PREVENTED FROM RUNNING FOR REELECTION IN
81. 5:20MICHIGAN.
82. 5:21HOW THIS GUY HAS
83. 5:22SURVIVED IS REMARKABLE.
84. 5:24THE TIMING IS THAT 2 1/2 YEARS AGO
85. 5:27WAS NOT 2014 WHEN HE WAS RUNNING
86. 5:29FOR REELECTION AND THEORETICALLY LOST.
87. 5:32BUT THEY TRIED TO
88. 5:33INTERVIEW THE GOVERNOR AND THE GOVERNOR WOULD NOT TALK TO THEM.
89. 5:36AND THE ATTY.
90. 5:37GEN.
91. 5:38ALSO A REPUBLICAN DID NOT SAY WE ARE
92. 5:40NOT CHARGING THE GOVERNOR, HE SIMPLY SAID HE IS NOT COMMENTING
93. 5:44ON WHETHER THE GOVERNOR WILL AT SOME POINT FACE CHARGES.
94. 5:46I THINK
95. 5:47IT IS FAIRLY UNLIKELY THAT THIS WILL BE THE LAST CHARGED, BUT IT
96. 5:54IS POSSIBLE THAT SOME VERY BIG NAMES IN MICHIGAN COULD END UP
97. 5:58IN LEGAL JEOPARDY.
98. 6:05EVEN NOW I THINK GOV.
99. 6:06SNYDER WAS RAISED
100. 6:10BOTH LYON AND WELLS.
101. 6:13IT IS A HECK OF A JOB.
102. 6:20I WOULD'VE GONE SILENT.
103. 6:25BUT AGAIN, 1036 DAYS AND A LOT OF GREAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE.
104. 6:32WE
105. 6:33HAVE SPOTLIGHTED MULTIPLE TIMES REUTERS INVESTIGATIONS THAT HAVE
106. 6:36UNVEILED THOUSANDS OF COUNTIES WITH AT LEAST AS BAD OF A LEAD
107. 6:40LEVEL PROBLEM.
108. 6:41EARLIER THIS YEAR THEY DID A CONFERENCE OF
109. 6:43ANALYSIS OF EVERY AREA, AND LA SPECIFICALLY, AND FOUND CRAZY
110. 6:48LEVELS OF CHILDHOOD EXPOSURE TO
111. 6:51LEAD.
112. 6:53SOLVING THE PROBLEM IN FLINT DOES NOT SOLVE THE LEAD
113. 6:54PROBLEM IN THE US.
114. 6:56THAT HAS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED.
115. 6:58BUT THE IDEA
116. 6:59THAT WE CAN ALLOW ñ IT'S NOT LIKE FIXING EVERY PIPE IN NEW
117. 7:03YORK CITY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
118. 7:05THEORETICALLY WE COULD
119. 7:06HAVE THROWN MONEY AT THIS PROBLEM AND SOLVED IT A YEAR OR
120. 7:09TWO AGO.
121. 7:10BUT DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF OUTRAGE,
122. 7:13ESPECIALLY DURING THE ELECTION,
123. 7:14IT CONTINUES ON.
124. 7:16THE GLACIAL PACE OF PROGRESS THERE.
125. 7:18THESE
126. 7:19PEOPLE'S LIVES HAVE BARELY
127. 7:20IMPROVED DESPITE KNOWING FOR YEARS WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE.
128. 7:25IT'S AMAZING WHAT WE WILL
129. 7:26TOLERATE.
130. 7:27LET ME JUST THROW A COUPLE OF DATES OUT THERE ñ IN 2015, SO
131. 7:38TWO YEARS AGO, THIS WOMAN NAMED
132. 7:41LEEANN WATERS ñ WALTERS, MOTHER OF FOUR CONTACTED THE EPA WITH
133. 7:46CONCERNS ABOUT DARK SEDIMENT IN HER TAPWATER POSSIBLY MAKING HER
134. 7:49CHILDREN SICK.
135. 7:51THE EPA LIMIT IS 15 PPB OF LEAD.
136. 7:58THE FIRST TEST
137. 7:59REVEALED HER AT 104 PPB, SEVEN TIMES THAT.
138. 8:03ANOTHER TEST
139. 8:04INDICATED IT WAS 397.
140. 8:05AND IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE 15, SOME MORE THAN 20 TIMES.
141. 8:09THE 15 IS BASICALLY AN ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN LEVELS OF
142. 8:15POSSIBLE LETHALITY.
143. 8:16THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF THE WATER SUPPLY THAT IS SAFE.
144. 8:19IT'S NOT LIKE AFTER A CERTAIN POINT IT IS GOOD FOR YOU.
145. 8:21BUT AS I'M GOING EASY, AND EVEN THEN SO MANY AREAS IN THE US
146. 8:25CAN MEET THAT RIDICULOUS BENCHMARK.
147. 8:27AND BASICALLY SIX MONTHS EARLIER, IN OCTOBER 2014
148. 8:31THE GENERAL MOTORS PLANT IN FLINT STOPPED USING THE CITY'S
149. 8:35WATER BECAUSE IT WAS CORRODING ENGINE PARTS.
150. 8:38THAT STOOD OUT THE MOST I THINK.
151. 8:40IT WAS ROUGH ON THE
152. 8:43SYSTEM OF SOMETHING MADE OF
153. 8:44METAL.
154. 8:45I'M NOT SURE CHILDREN SHOULD BE CONSUMING IT, BUT THIS
155. 8:48IS AMERICA AND IT IS NOT A WEALTHY AREA SO I GUESS WE WILL
156. 8:51ALLOW IT.
157. 8:52WE WILL LET IT GO ON FOR SEVEN YEARS OR SO.