Worthy, who is famous for successfully prosecuting former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and other high-profile cases, joined Hammoud’s team in February .

The statement continues: “From the outset, our team seriously considered dismissal of all pending cases initiated by the OSC. However, we believed the people of Flint deserved expeditious action, despite the shortcomings of the OSC, and we worked to salvage whatever progress had been made. ... Nonetheless, we cannot provide the citizens of Flint the investigation they rightly deserve by continuing to build on a flawed foundation.”

Hammoud and Worthy’s statement goes on to say that their team has identified “additional individuals of interest and new information relevant to the Flint Water Crisis,” and that their new team will “aggressively pursue” the new leads. “[O]ur team will move forward unrestrained by political motivations, prior tactics, or opportunities for financial gain.”

The attorney general’s office said that it will not answer media questions about the new development until after Hammoud and Worthy “have had an opportunity to speak directly to the people of Flint” during an event scheduled for June 28. According to the statement, further details about the event will be released “in the coming days.”

In a separate statement, Attorney General Nessel announced her confidence in the current team of investigators. “The depth and breadth of concern for a fair and just prosecution and justice for the people of Flint is precisely why I appointed and entrusted Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy to lead the Flint criminal cases. I trust them and if this step is necessary for them to do a comprehensive and complete investigation. I am in absolute support.”

Nessel also sought to reassure the people of Flint that justice will eventually be done.

“I want to remind the people of Flint that justice delayed is not always justice denied and a fearless and dedicated team of career prosecutors and investigators are hard at work to ensure those who harmed you are held accountable,” she said.

Flint’s mayor, Dr. Karen Weaver, expressed confidence in the move in a statement issued Thursday afternoon: “I am happy to see that this case is being handled with the seriousness and dogged determination that it should have been handled with from the beginning. How can our community regain any trust and respect from all branches of government when all levels failed them, then you allow the people you are prosecuting to decide what evidence they want you to have? This is once again an entire administration’s clear lack of respect for human life and common decency, another attempt to cover up what should have never happened to begin with.”

As reported by Daily Kos earlier this week , at that time the Flint criminal investigations seemed to be leading to more drama than results. In April, investigators discovered unexamined boxes containing 20 million documents. Earlier in the week, members of the criminal investigative team used a search warrant to obtain the cell phones and other devices of former Gov. Rick Snyder from other staff within the attorney general’s office. And in May, an unnamed assistant attorney general said in a statement filed with the court overseeing former DHHS Director Nick Lyon’s trial that Solicitor General Hammoud had made “incomplete or inaccurate” statements in an earlier filing asking for a stay of that case to review the new documents.