In March, MSU’s board voted to refer two of its members to Whitmer for removal, a constitutional power she alone wields. The referral was overwhelmingly supported by a vote of MSU’s academic congress, the university’s largest faculty organization.

The attempted ouster was spurred by a scathing independent investigation ordered by the board, which found that the members — former Chair Rema Vassar and Trustee Dennis Denno — regularly interfered in university business, sometimes for personal gain, and encouraged students to personally attack a faculty leader and the university’s interim president. (Vassar and Denno have disputed the findings.)

Since then, Whitmer has said only that she is considering the trustees' removal, but has given no further detail. Reached for comment Thursday, her office declined to answer questions, only repeating that "the request is still under review."

The attorney general’s office did tell The State News that Whitmer had asked them to "review" the board’s request. Further details are unclear, and will likely remain that way, a spokesperson said.

The governor’s office is a client of the attorney general, so its advice is subject to attorney-client privilege. They aren’t obligated to disclose it, even under a Freedom of Information Act Request.

"The content of our returned review will not be public, and we cannot detail … precise legal questions or components," spokesperson Danny Wimmer said in an email.

Legal experts told The State News in March that the investigation’s findings do warrant removal of Vassar and Denno, as described in the section of the state constitution giving Whitmer the power to do so. But, the experts said the tricky politics of the situation will need to be considered. 

Whitmer and the trustees are all Democrats. But, Vassar has accused Whitmer of being biased against her, because the governor is a longtime friend of Renee Knake Jefferson, another board member who has been critical of Vassar.

Nessel’s involvement could add new complications to the situation, as the Democratic attorney general has her own years-long, often hostile relationship with MSU’s board.

Her office fought with MSU for years over the board’s refusal to release thousands of privileged documents relating to the university’s handling of disgraced ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar. After a whirlwind reversal shattered hopes that the board would comply in spring 2023, Nessel publicly criticized Vassar, then the board’s chair.

"I don't understand the game playing when these are people's lives that we're talking about," Nessel said of Vassar’s politicking.

After the documents were eventually released months later, Nessel’s office reviewed them and concluded that the board had wrongly asserted attorney-client privilege over the long-sought records. MSU, though, has challenged that characterization.