Attorney general: Probe of abuser Nassar ‘at impasse’

LANSING, MICH. >> Michigan’s attorney general on Wednesday said her communications director’s statement announcing the suspension of a nearly twoyear criminal investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of complaints against serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar was “inadvertently misleading.”

Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a written statement that the investigation is ongoing.

The probe, which began under Nessel’s predecessor, has resulted in charges against three former school officials. One was convicted. Two others, including former president Lou Anna Simon, were ordered to trial. Their cases will continue to be prosecuted.

“A recent comment from our communications director regarding our department’s investigation ... was inadvertently misleading and demands clarification,” Nessel said in the statement. “For the record, I remain deeply committed to finding the truth about who knew what about Larry Nassar at MSU.”

The communications director, Kelly RossmanMcKinney, said Tuesday that investigators wanted the university to waive attorney-client privilege on more than 6,000 documents, and that they hope to interview former interim president John Engler, who took over following Simon’s resignation.

Nessel emphasized Wednesday that her office is “at an impasse” with MSU over the documents. She added that “the depth and breadth the university has gone to in withholding those documents only increases our fervor to obtain them.”

“Let me be clear: Despite this impasse, we are committed to continuing to pursue MSU’s role in the Larry Nassar tragedy,” Nessel said in her statement.

In a phone interview with The Associated Press later Wednesday, RossmanMcKinney said she was mistaken to use the word “suspended” in speaking with reporters the day before.

She said she should have stressed the deadlock over obtaining the MSU documents.

“At minimum, I should have used ‘temporarily suspended.’ ‘Impasse’ is more precise,” she said. “It was humbling but an important lesson that words really do matter . ... It’s important to get the message straight.”

The attorney general also said her department’s report on the case was “incomplete.”

“We are committed to pursuing the answers to the questions left unanswered in that report,” Nessel said.

The school’s governing board infuriated Nassar victims this year after dropping a promised independent review of sex assaults committed by Nassar, a former campus sports physician who also worked for USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.