By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
Former Attorneys General Mike Cox and Bill Schuette are raising concerns about what they deem potential ethics violations by Democratic attorney general candidate Eli Savit during his time as Washtenaw County prosecutor.
Cox said he believes Savit “engaged in a long-running pattern of misbehavior, misconduct, and unethical behavior and acts which are disqualifying to be the next attorney general.”
The two cited an independent contracting gig Savit had with the Dema Law Firm out of Maryland and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in which he held an Of Counsel position. He has had the position with Dema since 2019, before becoming the prosecutor in 2020.
Savit disclosed the law firm as an employer and source of earned income in May 2026. There is a link titled “Eli Savit” on Dema Law Firm’s website, but it reroutes to an error page. Cox shared a screenshot of the profile on the website that he says was still active until late 2025.
“This is just outrageous. This shows a lack of dedication to the citizens of Washtenaw County,” Cox said.
There is no specific rule barring prosecutors from this type of work.
Cox said they could not find cases he worked in filings but believes Savit “leveraged his job as Wayne County prosecutor to pitch cases.”
Naina Agrawal-Hardin, communications director for Savit, told Gongwer News Service in a statement that “everybody has things they do in their spare time,” and Savit “just happens to spend his spare time helping states successfully sue corporate polluters for contaminating our water with deadly chemicals like PFAS.”
She said he has openly discussed this work while campaigning, and his work with Dema “involved drafting motions, briefs, and court filings” and did not include cases in Michigan. She also said he was not “involved in any ‘pitches’ as prosecutor.”
She also confirmed that he was “always able to turn down work with Dema when he lacked the spare time to complete it” and has not worked there for over a year.
Another issue Cox raised was Savit’s move to try and dismiss a case against his office on the grounds of racial discrimination, First Amendment retaliation and retaliation against whistleblowers from his former employee, Nimish Ganatra.
In 2024, Ganatra filed a report on one of the prosecutors under his supervision for not following legal procedure in evidence. When he tried to file a grievance, he alleged another staff member said Savit was upset by him asking another prosecutor to research prosecutorial liability regarding the incidents and was “watching (him) and listening.” Ganatra also claimed he was stripped of his duty to hold weekly leadership meetings without Savit present, then put on leave for investigating the complaint before returning to the job where he now had less responsibility.
Cox said the move to strike and seal the case was an attempt to hide the allegations from the public and the press, and the evidence shows Ganatra “tried to do the right thing, report unethical conduct by a fellow prosecutor, and did do it, reporting it to the state bar, (and) he was punished.”
The judge denied the motion to dismiss from the office. The campaign declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Other potential conflicts discussed involved prior reporting, including maxed out donations from hallucinogenic mushroom sellers, which opponents believed could sway his drug policy, and the use of county car and gas cards to travel for his attorney general campaign.
Schuette compared Savit and Attorney General Dana Nessel, saying if people were fearful of Nessel’s conduct, then “Savit is going to give people cardiac arrest.”
A recent poll from the Glengariff Group found Savit has a very slight lead over his Republican opponent Doug Lloyd, 36% to 35% respectively. However, the lead is within the margin of error, and 29% of voters remain undecided, spotlighting that both candidates lack name recognition.
Cox is not sweating the poll results, saying it’s a statistical tie, and many people decide late in the race. He said they “feel great” in the face of negative ads coming out of the Democratic Attorneys General Association to attack Lloyd, not knocking him back a few more points than expected. The Republican Attorneys General Association has also released attack ads on Savit.
Schuette pushed back on the idea that Michigan will face the same political headwinds as the East and West Coast, in which Republicans have faced hard-fought battles in a tough environment due to President Donald Trump’s low approval rating.
Gongwer News Service
Former Attorneys General Mike Cox and Bill Schuette are raising concerns about what they deem potential ethics violations by Democratic attorney general candidate Eli Savit during his time as Washtenaw County prosecutor.
Cox said he believes Savit “engaged in a long-running pattern of misbehavior, misconduct, and unethical behavior and acts which are disqualifying to be the next attorney general.”
The two cited an independent contracting gig Savit had with the Dema Law Firm out of Maryland and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in which he held an Of Counsel position. He has had the position with Dema since 2019, before becoming the prosecutor in 2020.
Savit disclosed the law firm as an employer and source of earned income in May 2026. There is a link titled “Eli Savit” on Dema Law Firm’s website, but it reroutes to an error page. Cox shared a screenshot of the profile on the website that he says was still active until late 2025.
“This is just outrageous. This shows a lack of dedication to the citizens of Washtenaw County,” Cox said.
There is no specific rule barring prosecutors from this type of work.
Cox said they could not find cases he worked in filings but believes Savit “leveraged his job as Wayne County prosecutor to pitch cases.”
Naina Agrawal-Hardin, communications director for Savit, told Gongwer News Service in a statement that “everybody has things they do in their spare time,” and Savit “just happens to spend his spare time helping states successfully sue corporate polluters for contaminating our water with deadly chemicals like PFAS.”
She said he has openly discussed this work while campaigning, and his work with Dema “involved drafting motions, briefs, and court filings” and did not include cases in Michigan. She also said he was not “involved in any ‘pitches’ as prosecutor.”
She also confirmed that he was “always able to turn down work with Dema when he lacked the spare time to complete it” and has not worked there for over a year.
Another issue Cox raised was Savit’s move to try and dismiss a case against his office on the grounds of racial discrimination, First Amendment retaliation and retaliation against whistleblowers from his former employee, Nimish Ganatra.
In 2024, Ganatra filed a report on one of the prosecutors under his supervision for not following legal procedure in evidence. When he tried to file a grievance, he alleged another staff member said Savit was upset by him asking another prosecutor to research prosecutorial liability regarding the incidents and was “watching (him) and listening.” Ganatra also claimed he was stripped of his duty to hold weekly leadership meetings without Savit present, then put on leave for investigating the complaint before returning to the job where he now had less responsibility.
Cox said the move to strike and seal the case was an attempt to hide the allegations from the public and the press, and the evidence shows Ganatra “tried to do the right thing, report unethical conduct by a fellow prosecutor, and did do it, reporting it to the state bar, (and) he was punished.”
The judge denied the motion to dismiss from the office. The campaign declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Other potential conflicts discussed involved prior reporting, including maxed out donations from hallucinogenic mushroom sellers, which opponents believed could sway his drug policy, and the use of county car and gas cards to travel for his attorney general campaign.
Schuette compared Savit and Attorney General Dana Nessel, saying if people were fearful of Nessel’s conduct, then “Savit is going to give people cardiac arrest.”
A recent poll from the Glengariff Group found Savit has a very slight lead over his Republican opponent Doug Lloyd, 36% to 35% respectively. However, the lead is within the margin of error, and 29% of voters remain undecided, spotlighting that both candidates lack name recognition.
Cox is not sweating the poll results, saying it’s a statistical tie, and many people decide late in the race. He said they “feel great” in the face of negative ads coming out of the Democratic Attorneys General Association to attack Lloyd, not knocking him back a few more points than expected. The Republican Attorneys General Association has also released attack ads on Savit.
Schuette pushed back on the idea that Michigan will face the same political headwinds as the East and West Coast, in which Republicans have faced hard-fought battles in a tough environment due to President Donald Trump’s low approval rating.
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