Latest news with #Rigas
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan Republican unloads on Nessel over failure to provide Flint water documents
State Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia) speaks on the Michigan House floor. May 1, 2025. | Kyle Davidson Rep. Angela Rigas, chair of the Michigan House Oversight Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government, released a scathing statement Wednesday evening blasting Attorney General Dana Nessel over continued delays in producing requested documents related to the Flint water criminal prosecutions. Nessel's office delivered numerous documents to Rigas's office on Wednesday, but the representative said it was not at all what she requested. 'Dana Nessel's office sent us an incomplete, incoherent mess of documents on a password-protected flash drive like they were bringing us the Holy Grail,' Rigas said. Rigas had requested documents related to the legal battles that ensued during Nessel's term and in the aftermath of Flint's water supply being contaminated in 2014. The contamination occurred due to a switch of the water supply without proper lead contamination prevention. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Former Attorney General Bill Schuette began an investigation and prosecution, the latter of which began in 2016. Schuette charged a city of Flint employee and two employees with what was then known as the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality [now known as the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy]. Nessel became attorney general in 2018 and scuttled Schuette's investigation and prosecution to begin anew in 2021. She formed a Flint water prosecution team led by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and former Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud while Nessel spearheaded the civil litigation side, which resulted in a mammoth settlement. The criminal cases resulted in charges against former Governor Rick Snyder and several members of his administration, but those charges were later dismissed after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the prosecutorial team had used a one-man grand jury process to indict them without at first holding a preliminary examination that would have given the defendants a chance to poke holes in the attorney general's presentation of probable cause. Justices of the high court ruled the process as unconstitutional, and the charges were dismissed shortly thereafter. Rigas (R-Caledonia) as the chair of the House Oversight subcommittee, requested records from Nessel on March 12 with a deadline of March 25 to give the subcommittee various documents. The request included a comprehensive itemized list of all billable hours, legal fees and associated costs incurred during Nessel's tenure as attorney general, including personnel time, outside counsel and expert witnesses; a breakdown of all state funds allocated and expended on these cases; copies of contracts and invoices or memorandums of understanding with third parties retained by her office; and a summary of reimbursements, settlements or cost recoveries tied to the cases. Nessel requested an eight-week extension, which Rigas granted, with a deadline of Tuesday. Rigas in a news release issued Wednesday evening said the attorney general's staff brought a password protected flash drive to Rigas' office, which was also shared with some members of the Lansing Capitol press corps. Nessel's office also shared a copy of a letter sent to Rigas' office on Tuesday indicating that the document haul was just one half of those requested by Rigas and that the other portion would be delivered to the representative on or before June 17. Rigas said that the flash drive contained 'a mass array of unrelated documents that were never requested, mostly from [former Attorney General] Bill Schuette's tenure.' The documents delivered to Rigas mostly contained contracts with attorneys and appointed special counsel Todd Flood and various invoices from Flood's office. Needless to say, Rigas was unhappy with what was turned over to her office. '[Nessel] and her office have consistently failed to meet deadline after deadline, and it's unacceptable,' Rigas said. 'She has failed to follow simple directions and comply with what has so clearly been requested. There will be no more extensions. No more games. This ends now.' A request for comment was sent to the Attorney General's office, but has yet to be returned.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Energean Israel signs gas sale agreement with Kesem Energy for new power plant
Energean Israel has announced the signing of a gas sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Kesem Energy to supply gas to Kesem's upcoming power plant. The plant is expected to be operational before the end of the decade, with Energean Israel committed to supplying approximately one billion cubic metres (bcm) annually from the mid-2030s. The agreement represents significant revenues, with Energean Israel projecting more than $2bn (NIS7.37bn) from approximately 12.5bcm of contracted supply over the 17-year period. Energean CEO Mathios Rigas said: 'We are pleased to announce the signing of another new contract, this time with Kesem, whose new planned power plant demonstrates the robust and growing long-term demand for natural gas in Israel. Energean has been a major underwriter of both energy security and transition in Israel and the broader region. We are delighted to continue to meet the needs of Israeli clients and society. 'This contract also reflects our long-stated commitment to securing stable and reliable long-term cash flows. We have now secured around $20bn in contracted revenues over the next two decades.' Prior to the full commencement, Energean will supply limited gas quantities intermittently. The contract includes provisions for floor pricing, take-or-pay terms and price indexation, which are not linked to Brent prices. Energean has aligned this gas SPA with other long-term contracts in its portfolio. 'Our strategy emphasises stability and resilience, evidenced by the fact that over 75% of our Group production contains floor pricing. This approach safeguards our operations and investments against global financial and commodity price volatility. It is and remains one of the core tenets of our strategy and investment thesis,' Rigas added. In a related development, Energean reached a $1.2bn final investment decision for the Katlan project in Israel in July last year. This project, fully owned and operated by Energean, is scheduled to begin gas production in the first half of 2027. The Israeli Government approved the Katlan development plan in December 2023. The initial phase is estimated to contain 229 million barrels of oil equivalent. Discovered in 2022, the Katlan area will be developed in phases through a subsea tieback to the existing Energean Power floating storage and offloading unit. "Energean Israel signs gas sale agreement with Kesem Energy for new power plant" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Zawya
08-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Energean continues Egypt investment plans despite Carlyle deal collapse
Arab Finance: Energean is still committed to investing in Egypt after the collapse of its deal with Carlyle, CEO Matheos Rigas told Asharq Business, citing regulatory hurdles as the main reason behind the deal termination. Rigas explained that the deal fell through due to Carlyle's inability to meet regulatory conditions in Italy, where approvals were required to complete the transaction. Despite the setback, Rigas affirmed Energean's ongoing interest in the Egyptian market He said the company's immediate focus is on integrating its three existing concessions to boost productivity and cut costs, which will enable them to invest more money. © 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Michigan AG's critique Nessel during House committee hearing
Former Republican Michigan Attorneys General Mike Cox (left) and Bill Schuette (right) testify to the House Weaponization of State Government Committee. March 19, 2025. Photo by Anna Liz Nichols. Former Republican Attorneys General of Michigan Mike Cox and Bill Schuette talked about keeping politics out of the office of the attorney general and maintaining commitment to public safety during the Michigan House Weaponization of State Government Committee meeting on Wednesday, offering critiques of current Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel. The committee, new this session, will be dedicated to examining political weaponization of state departments and agencies, said Chair Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Alto). She zeroed Wednesday's committee in on Nessel, recalling her participation in 'Operation Haircut' in May of 2020 where she and other hairstylists and barbers gathered on the Capitol lawn amid Covid-19 lockdown orders, with Rigas and others being criminally charged, though the charges were later dropped. '…in 2020 I was ticketed for a First Amendment event, and ultimately our current attorney general tried stripping my professional business license for that,' Rigas told the committee Wednesday. 'That's a clear example of weaponization of state government, so I appreciate you here to give the committee and the people of Michigan a clear understanding of the proper role of that office.' Cox, who served as Michigan's attorney general from 2003 to 2011 and Schuette who served in that role from 2011 to 2019, concurred that it is not the job of the state attorney general to assert their own politics, rather to uphold the law. 'The Michigan Constitution is a mosaic of the people of Michigan, and it's not like a box of candy where you get to choose if you like the caramels or the raspberry cream,' Schuette said. 'You have to defend the Constitution, even if you disagree with them, and politics should not be at the heart of what you do. The laws of governing the people of the state of Michigan should be the heart of what you do.' State Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) zeroed in on the shared sentiments of enforcing the law, leaving personal politics out of things and upholding the constitution, referencing Cox joining Republican-led efforts to oppose Obama administration health care reforms amid his own gubernatorial run and Schuette's defense of the ban in the state constitution on gay marriage. Both men asserted that they were adhering to the defense of the state constitution, though both endeavors drew hefty criticism of politics while they were happening. Rigas cut Wegla's line of questioning short in favor of moving on to other members' questions. Cox, who is among Michigan Republicans considering a run for governor in 2026, focused the bulk of his criticisms of Nessel on the prosecution of the 16 individuals her office says submitted fake results for the 2020 election falsely asserting Michigan voters had chosen now-president Donald Trump. In reality, former President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Michigan by more than 150,000 votes. A few weeks after Nessel announced the charges, she spoke at a virtual event calling the defendants, who would have been the rightful Republican electors had Trump won, as 'brainwashed' by Trump's lies that the election was stolen. The defense has referenced Nessel's sentiments to show lack of criminal intent by the group. 'These are people who have been brainwashed,' Nessel said in the video, which has been played in court. 'They legit believe that … somebody can't even plead guilty if they wanted to because they can't admit that what they did violated the law because they still think they're right.' The comments jeopardized the appearance of fair administration of the law, Cox remarked, adding that they show an obvious contradiction to the charges Nessel's office are pursuing as her own words convey that the defendants thought Biden was not elected to the office of president. 'That's the premise… if you read the complaint, but then two months later, the Attorney General, the top dog, is saying these people legitimately believed Trump won, that she totally undermined her case, completely undermined her case,' Cox said. 'I didn't really get the charges.' A request for comment has yet to be returned by Nessel's office. Cox added that electors are typically people who have volunteered for decades and aren't lawyers who would have known what some of the procedures are and instead simply 'show up and are directed'. The group includes, a national committeewoman of the Republican Party of Michigan, a township clerk and a former chair for the state Republican party. Rigas said the committee will be holding a hearing at some point in regards to the Attorney General's case against the group of electors. The committee is also set to review the attorney general's office's handling of prosecutions stemming from the Flint Water Crisis which led to no convictions. Last week, Republican members of the committee sent a letter to Nessel's office requesting documentation of expenditures the office made during the case. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan House committee to look into AG's handling of Flint Water Crisis prosecutions
Flint water plant | Susan J. Demas Republican lawmakers in Michigan are asking for documentation on how much the state Attorney General's Office spent on the seven years of prosecutions related to the Flint Water Crisis that ultimately came up with no convictions. Due to a switch of the City of Flint's water supply in 2014 without proper care to ensure prevention of lead contamination, despite citizen concerns about the water they were drinking and cleaning with, many of the city's residents were effectively poisoned. The prosecution in regards to the crisis began in April 2016 when Republican then-state Attorney General Bill Schuette charged an employee of the City of Flint and two Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees for their roles in the crisis. Current state Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, took over the office in 2018 and in 2021 her office announced charges for Republican former Governor Rick Snyder, his aides and officials in Flint for their response to citizens' concerns about the water. Oversight Chair of the new Weaponization of State Government Subcommittee Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Alto) sent a letter to the Michigan Attorney General's Office Wednesday requesting itemized lists of costs and state funds spent on the Flint prosecutions. 'This request falls within the Subcommittee's mandate to ensure transparency, accountability, and the responsible use of state resources in governmental operations,' Rigas wrote. The subcommittee has three Republican members, Rigas and Reps. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) and Jason Woolford (R-Howell) while two Democrats also serve on the committee, Reps Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) . All Republican members of the subcommittee signed the letter. The Michigan Attorney General's Office has received the request and it is being reviewed, Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for the office said Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday also marked the committee's first meeting with Rigas setting a mandate for the committee to address what she called a 'growing threat of political prosecution' by state departments and agencies. She said the issue of politically motivated prosecution escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic where many Michiganders railed against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's lockdown orders to slow the spread of the virus. As the state suffered economic hardship amid the pandemic, some restaurant and other business owners defied COVID safety protocols and kept their doors open in spite of Whitmer's executive orders, which were later deemed unconstitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court. Rigas herself was charged for her actions during a May 2020 protest on the State Capitol lawn called 'Operation Haircut' where she and other hairstylists and barbers gathered with hundreds of participants to rail against the orders. The charges were eventually dropped. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
