So it begins.

Michigan House Republicans on Wednesday kicked off their promised oversight of Attorney General Dana Nessel with a request for documents on her bungled prosecution of the Flint Water Crisis.

“As the Oversight Chair of the Weaponization of State Government Subcommittee, I am writing to request detailed information regarding the financial expenditures incurred by your office in the prosecution related to the Flint Water Crisis,” state Rep. Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia, wrote in a letter to Nessel. “This request falls within the Subcommittee’s mandate to ensure transparency, accountability, and the responsible use of state resources in governmental operations.”

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The letter provides a detailed list of documents requested, including an itemization of all expenses and legal fees, a breakdown of state, federal, and other funds allocated to the cases, contracts with third parties related to the prosecutions, and records on reimbursements tied to the cases.

“The Subcommittee seeks to understand the full scope of financial resources committed to this matter, given its significant public interest and the prolonged nature of the legal proceedings,” the letter read.

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., cited the Flint Water Crisis among numerous examples of what he described as Nessel’s lawfare tactics against her political opponents when he announced plans for increased oversight in December.

Others include her prosecutions of 16 Republicans who backed President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, several election clerks and voters in St. Clair County last year, and Republican fundraising consultants Heather Lombardini and Sandy Baxter, whom Nessel alleged failed to properly disclose money raised to oppose Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s unilateral edicts during the pandemic.

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Nessel is currently pursing numerous lawsuits that aim to block Trump’s executive orders on behalf of Michigan taxpayers.

“This attorney general is a complete activist,” Hall told reporters at a December press conference in Kalamazoo. “Look, I mean she’s bullied and threatened so many innocent Michiganders, tying them up into criminal proceedings for years and then these cases get dismissed.

“I mean, look at the Flint water crisis and how she bungled that for years and years and then nobody got convicted of anything,” he said. “And then you look at St. Clair Shores, where she started going after some people that made some innocent mistakes on their election process, and then that got dismissed.

“Time after time after time, this attorney general is using lawfare to go after innocent people in Michigan and losing,” Hall continued. “I mean, she’s spending your tax dollars to lose frivolous lawsuits. People should be outraged by that.”

Nessel ended the AG’s criminal prosecutions against Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder, his top aides and other members of his administration in October 2023 after the Michigan Supreme Court rejected her attempt to revive charges against Snyder.

“I wish this dismissal would represent the end of political persecutions in Michigan forever,” Snyder said in a statement cited by The Detroit News at the time. “Unfortunately, the only way to end political persecutions would require electing attorney generals and prosecutors who believe in facts, have a moral compass, and act with civility.”

Richard Baird, Snyder’s former “transformation manager” in Flint, last year filed a federal lawsuit against Nessel and top former Flint water prosecutors seeking $2.8 million in damages for depression, pain, suffering, emotional distress and “damages to his sterling reputation” over the overzealous prosecution, MLive reports.

“Michigan residents have entrusted House Republicans with a mandate for truth and transparency,” Rigas said. “There’s significant public interest in these prosecutions, which have been going on for years. Citizens have a right to see how their tax dollars were spent, and we’re going to help them get the answers.”

Rigas’ House Oversight subcommittee is part of a broader plan by House Republicans who won a majority in November to cut down on waste, fraud and abuse in state government through a revamped House Oversight Committee with subpoena power.

The House Oversight Committee provides critical checks and balances within the Legislature, handling issues involving state government, including reviewing audit reports released by the Auditor General and legislation addressing governance of the Legislature, state departments and agencies.

Other subcommittees include Child Welfare and the Department of Health and Human Services, Corporate Subsidies and State Investments, Public Health and Food Security, Homeland Security and Foreign Influences, and State and Local Public Assistance Programs.