U.S. Marshals directed to ‘hunt down’ former Flint official

Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said Darnell Earley was invited to testify in front of the committee and on Monday told officials he would not be coming. On Tuesday, Chaffetz’s aides sent a subpoena electronically to Earley’s lawyers, who refused to accept it.

“His attorney refused service. We are calling on the U.S. Marshals to hunt him down and give him that subpoena,” Chaffetz said.

Earley was the emergency manager in charge of Flint when the city switched from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Company to the Flint River in April 2014.

Reports have indicated Earley is working with a lawyer on his options and was likely to plead the Fifth Amendment, the right to avoid self-incrimination, if he did appear in front of the committee.

While Earley was the emergency manager when the change was made, he was not the emergency manager who signed off on the switch to the Flint River water. That was Ed Kurtz, who made the call months before Earley took office.

Earley took over as emergency manager of the Detroit Public Schools following his time in Flint and resigned from that position Tuesday, effective at the end of the month.

“Participation before this committee is not optional,” Chaffetz said. “When you get invited to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, you are going to show up.”

Chaffetz also announced Susan Hedman, the former EPA administrator for Region 5, which is the region in charge of Flint, will be subpoenaed to appear before the committee before the end of the month.

Hedman resigned her position at the beginning of the month after coming under criticism for silencing researcher Miguel Del Toral. Del Toral reported finding high lead levels in drinking water in Flint, but the EPA never went public with his findings.

The EPA will send all Hedman’s emails to the committee by the end of the week for review, Chaffetz said.