FLINT, MI -- Gov. Rick Snyder is asking that a state investigation related to the Flint water crisis be suspended after requests from U.S. Department of Justice and attorney general Bill Schuette.

In a letter Wednesday, May 25, Schuette and Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said a state administrative investigation of the crisis has the potential to "cause the guilty to go free, obstruct justice, and result in gross injustice to the families of Flint and to the families of Michigan."

Two months ago, Snyder asked Auditor General Doug Ringler and Alan Kimichik, inspector general for the state Department of Health and Human Services, to investigate the way DHHS handled the Flint water emergency, saying a preliminary internal review showed an immediate and thorough investigation was warranted.

The decision to request a suspension of that investigation was announced Thursday, May 26, in an email by the governor's office, which also released copies of letters from Schuette, Leyton and U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.

The letter from Schuette and Leyton says they are "concerned that the inspector general/auditor general investigation is having a chilling effect on the criminal investigation that the Flint Water Crisis Investigative Team is conducting."

"Although we are sure this is unintended, the result may be an obstruction of justice," the letter says.

McQuade's letter says the federal criminal investigation into the Flint water emergency is compromised by the administrative investigations and a written report of the civil investigation "poses a significant risk to our federal criminal investigation.

A court could find that statements obtained in the administrative investigations are " 'compelled' statements, and the Fifth Amendment would therefore prohibit their use in any subsequent criminal prosecution of the employee," the letter says.

"This prohibition goes beyond simply barring the use of the compelled statement at trial; it prohibits 'derivative use' as well, meaning that the prosecution must establish that its case was not in any way tainted by the compelled statement," McQuade wrote.

Anna Heaton, a spokeswoman for Snyder said in an email that the state attorney general was notified of the administrative investigations of the Department of Environmental Quality and DHHS.

"No agency has raised any concerns with our office before now," Heaton said. "The administrative investigation at the DEQ that was initiated at the request of the department director has reportedly been concluded. The attorney general's office was alerted to the department's investigation while it was underway and the results have been shared with his office, so there is no action for us to take in that regard."