In a rare move for a sitting governor, Rick Snyder takes the witness stand in Detroit’s bankruptcy eligibility trial today to answer questions about perhaps the most far-reaching decision of his political career.
He'll be grilled by labor union attorneys who are seeking to show Detroit did not satisfy legal requirements to file for Chapter 9.
Chad Livengood and Christine MacDonald in the Detroit News report:
It’s an extraordinary appearance in an extraordinary case that wouldn’t be before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes if Snyder had not given Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr his blessing to seek court protection from Detroit’s creditors.
After agreeing to an unprecedented three-hour deposition in the bankruptcy case, Snyder is believed to be the first Michigan governor in modern history to testify under oath in open court. Several Lansing insiders and historians said they can’t recall a similar event in the last 50 years or more.
Unions are expected to pepper the Republican governor about the city’s path toward bankruptcy, his hiring of Orr and why he didn’t place any conditions on the bankruptcy prohibiting Orr from seeking cuts to earned pension benefits for 23,500 city retirees. Snyder’s testimony is expected to start at 1 p.m.
“It is our view that the governor, perhaps with the exception of Mr. Orr, may be the most important witness in this case,” United Auto Workers attorney Peter DeCharia said.
