Lee Chatfield

‘We’re not twiddling our thumbs,’ the attorney general says, explaining  her office plans to make wrap up the high-profile case and others by the end of 2023.

Bridge Michigan, Free Press fighting to make public search warrants in ongoing investigation; a judge rules that Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office doesn’t need to provide clarity over when that might happen.

A lawyer from Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office told a judge that ‘federal agencies’ are now helping the state investigate Chatfield, who has denied accusations of sexual assault and financial wrongdoing.

In seeking to suppress search warrant records in the criminal probe, the attorney general’s office argues that some current and ex-state officials, appointees and lobbyists could be embarrassed if the records are made public. 

Bridge Michigan and the Detroit Free Press are asking a judge to reconsider an order that indefinitely blocks public access to records in the criminal probe of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield.

After Bridge Michigan and the Detroit Free Press won access to documents that would shed new light on the criminal investigation against the former house speaker, Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office obtained a court order blocking release of virtually all records in the case.

A spokesperson for Dana Nessel’s office said the criminal investigation prompted by allegations of sexual assault by Chatfield’s sister-in-law remains “open and ongoing.”