Flint Mayor and Powerful Foundation Lose It Over Jordan's Bombshell Flint Water Cover Up Report

Mayor attacks Jordan as "unscrupulous" reporter; foundation calls his reports "lies" (they're not)

Hey folks, it’s Jordan.

I haven’t been live yet this week (my 19-month old daughter has been sick so daddy duty calls; she’s turning the corner thankfully!). But I’m proud to say, thanks to your continued support, I broke two major stories back to back Monday and Tuesday.

Monday: AUDIO: Mayor Sheldon Neeley accused powerful Mott Foundation of pulling strings that caused Flint water crisis (in the Detroit Metro Times)

Tuesday: EXCLUSIVE: EPA Hid Discovery of Toxic Vinyl Chloride in East Palestine, Won't Disclose Levels They Detected (our Substack)

I’ll have an interview dropping soon on the East Palestine bombshell—that as of now, NOT ONE mainstream media outlet has covered or picked up us breaking the fact that the EPA detected toxic vinyl chloride in East Palestine yet did not notify the public. The only mention of our important news scoop was from News Nation reporter Rich McHugh.

But in case you missed, I released an excerpt on Monday from my upcoming Flint water cover up book, “We the Poisoned: Exposing the Flint Water Crisis Cover Up and the Poisoning of 100,000 Americans” (pre-order available now).

In the excerpt/story, I released audio of a conversation I had with Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley in 2019 (when he was running for Mayor). In the conversation, I asked Neeley about the powerful Mott Foundation, which has funded much of Flint’s schools, hospitals, youth programs, and more for decades. But for years, while reporting in Flint, residents had complained to me about Mott—many of them accusing the foundation of “owning” city and state politicians and pulling the strings of government behind-the-scenes. Multiple sources had also told me that Mott handpicked two of the unelected emergency managers that former Governor Rick Snyder selected to run Flint—bureaucrats whose decisions helped cause the Flint water crisis. Neeley also brought up Mott’s history—which includes accusations that the foundation supported racist housing and education policies. Here’s the conversation we had (I recorded it without his knowledge—which is legal in Michigan).

There will be more on this conversation, the Mott Foundation—and the unknown role other state and city officials played in the poisoning of Flint—coming out in my book. But, needless to say: a private charitable foundation pulling the strings behind-the-scenes, on major government policy—like the appointment of unelected emergency managers who seize power away from the elected mayor and city council and make decisions that lead to the poisoning of 100,000 Americans—is a major story with implications well beyond Flint.

And boy did my story upset some powerful folks! The Mayor posted quite the statement in response to my story, and his words, falsely accusing me of taking him out of context and that our conversation was off-the-record. Neither is true.

My hunch: Mayor Neeley got a mouthful from the Mott Foundation and, as a result, issued that statement (which is one of the worst attempts at political spin I’ve ever seen). I’m not sure how I could have taken him “out of context”; it’s his words. Note: I did not bring up the issue of race or the appointment of Flint’s emergency managers that helped cause the water crisis—Neeley did.

The foundation also issued a statement, calling me a liar (I’m not) while not providing any evidence that actually disputes my reporting.

I’ll have more on this when I return live later this week. But, based on the bombshells that will come out in my book, I fully expect more powerful officials and entities to come out trying to spin, deflect, and distract away from their roles in the Flint water crisis. Buckle up!

Jordan