DETROIT (WXYZ) — The city of Detroit released previously deleted emails that center on Mayor Mike Duggan, a woman he is connected to and a program she runs that received support from city grants.
The Detroit Free Press reported last month that e-mails related to "Make Your Date," a program run by Dr. Sonia Hassan, were deleted following questions raised by the city's support of the program and Hassan's relationship with Mayor Duggan. The city has declined to say who ordered that th e-mails be deleted.
According to the city's Corporation Counsel Lawrence García, all deleted emails were recovered and provided to the Detroit Office of the Inspector General in early May. They were posted for the public to read after the inspector general said it would not impair the investigation.
In all, the city released 211 pages of emails, posted below, from late 2017 and 2018. We're told the emails come from two staff members in the Office of Development and Grants and are about their work with the "Make Your Date" program from Wayne State University.
Last month, the Michigan Attorney General and the Office of the Inspector General said they were looking into the deleted emails.
The Michigan Attorney General's Office said they received two complaints in early July, one from a current city employee and one from a former employee, that alleged they had been directed to delete the emails.
The questions came up earlier this year about a program called Make Your Date, a program to address low birth mortality in the city. The emails center on city staff discussing funding for the program.
Dr. Sonia Hassan runs the program, we are told as a volunteer with no pay. Last year, a private investigator recorded Duggan visiting her home. This year, Duggan announced he was getting a divorce.
The city provided some $350,000 in federal grants for the program and did other fundraising efforts.
García said that the Inspector General's Office announced that she is investigating the circumstances around deleting and retrieving the emails, and her office will determine if any violation occurred.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General's Office said that they are moving forward in determining what happened, and said the investigation is in the early stages.
You can read the emails below.
City of Detroit releases previously deleted Make Your Date emails by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
