House Speaker Tom Leonard calls on MSU president Lou Anna Simon to resign

State House Speaker Tom Leonard has called for MSU President Lou Anna Simon to resign, saying state legislators should consider withholding funding to the university during the budgeting process if questions remain about who at MSU knew what and when about Larry Nassar's admitted crimes.

"In light of your failing, it is time for the U.S. Department of Justice, the F.B.I., the Michigan State Police, and the Attorney General to put witnesses under oath, find out who knew what and when, and get to the bottom of what happened," the DeWitt Township Republican wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday aimed at Michigan State University.

"At best, you have clearly proven yourself grossly incompetent. At worst, you are covering something up and shielding bad actors from the justice these victims deserve. It is well past time for all of us to find out the truth."

Leonard said he decided to call for an independent investigation of MSU when he read on Friday that, while MSU has hired law firms to assist with internal reviews, those law firms don't plan on putting together reports on their findings.

"It made my skin crawl," he said on Monday. "It's absolutely reprehensible."

On Monday, Leonard called on Simon to resign amid growing criticism of the university. In an interview with the State Journal, he cited the lack of reports from MSU's outside counsel and the university's handling of a 2014 Title IX investigation into Nassar.

Leonard has been state House Speaker for one year and is running for Michigan Attorney General.

His calls for Simon's resignation and an independent investigation represent his own views and not those of all House Republicans, he said.

Leonard said he's looked into what he could do from his position to address questions about who knew what and when about Nassar. He came to the conclusion that, at this time, due to the separation of powers and the autonomy universities have in the state, it's best handled by an agency that can handle criminal matters.

However, Leonard said, if no independent investigation of MSU is underway when the state budgeting process begins early next year, state legislators should consider withholding some funding as a means of getting questions answered.

MSU spokesman Jason Cody declined to comment but referred to an editorial by the MSU Board of Trustees in response to the State Journal Editorial Board's call for Simon to resign.

"Our full confidence in President Lou Anna K. Simon has not wavered," trustees wrote. "We firmly believe she is the right leader for this university."

Related:

-Editorial: Lou Anna Simon must resign as Michigan State president

-Rachael Denhollander: 'MSU officials silenced' Larry Nassar's victims

-At MSU: Assault, harassment and secrecy

-Larry Nassar and a career filled with ‘silenced’ voices

In an opinion piece in the State Journal last week, Pat Miles, a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, called for the Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to investigate MSU.

"Schuette must immediately launch a broad investigation to determine whether anyone else is responsible for the crimes committed against these children and their families," Miles wrote. "Schuette’s so-far refusal to investigate is itself cause for concern."

Miles, a Democrat, was the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan when Nassar was indicted on three child pornography charges. He resigned in January and is running for Michigan Attorney General.

Nassar, 54, of Holt, was sentenced last week to 60 years in federal prison for three child pornography charges, which he pleaded guilty to in July.

Last month, Nassar pleaded guilty to 10 first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges split between Ingham and Eaton counties. He faces at decades in prison and will be sentenced in January.

Nassar worked for MSU for decades. Between 1997 and 2015, at least seven women or girls say they raised concerns about his actions to coaches, trainers, police or university officials. He was investigated twice by police but never charged.

In 2014, the university cleared him of sexual assault allegations after a Title IX investigation. Ingham County prosecutors declined to issue charges after an MSU police investigation.

Calls for an independent investigation about who at MSU knew what and when have been ongoing for nearly a year. In February, more than 100 university faculty members called for an outside investigation of Nassar. The university has been paying attorneys, some charging $990 an hour, to represent it in the civil lawsuits related to Nassar or handle internal reviews.

For full coverage of the Larry Nassar cases, go here.

Those calls were renewed as Nassar began to plead guilty in state courts and have now been joined by calls for Simon to resign.

Last month, Cody said the FBI, in conjunction with MSU's own police department, conducted a joint investigation this year focused on "whether any university employee other than Nassar engaged in criminal conduct." He added that the results of that investigation were sent to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, and "We have no reason to believe that any criminal conduct was found."

Nassar in Ingham County Jail

For the past year, Nassar has been in federal custody and held at the Newaygo County Jail pending the resolution of his child pornography charges, which happened last week.

Nassar is now being held at the Ingham Count Jail as he awaits his sentencing on seven first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges. The sentencing starts Jan. 12 and could last more than a day. He'll then be sentenced in Eaton County starting Jan. 31.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.