After a testy exchange between the judge presiding over Detroit's bankruptcy and a Michigan official, attorneys for the state agreed yesterday to drop a challenge to a request by creditors' lawyers to depose Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on the city's eligibility for bankruptcy, Reuters reported yesterday. Citing executive privilege, the office of the state attorney general had filed a motion on Monday arguing that Snyder should not be deposed. Creditors' attorneys had said that they wanted the governor's deposition to determine his motivation in approving a request in mid-July from Detroit's state-appointed emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, to take the city into chapter 9 bankruptcy. Some unions have also argued in filings that Snyder and Orr arranged the bankruptcy filing specifically to target worker pay and benefits. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes took issue with the lateness of the filing on Monday and said he almost considered waiving the Tuesday hearing. Assistant State Attorney General Margaret Nelson, who appeared in court to make the governor's case, argued that the issue of deliberations on Snyder's part were not relevant to the case. But Judge Rhodes responded that since creditors had objected to the bankruptcy based in part on Snyder's motives, it was too late to cite executive privilege.
