The Department of Attorney General Dana Nessel will review the case of Grand Traverse County Commissioner Brad Jewett for possible charges regarding alleged solicitation of prostitution, keeping the case with the department instead of assigning it to a special prosecutor, a spokesperson for Nessel confirmed to The Ticker Wednesday.

Jewett was among three individuals arrested in June in a multi-entity undercover operation involving the Grand Traverse Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, Traverse City Police Department, and Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Though Jewett's case is not reported to have included a minor, other details have been scarce outside of the reported solicitation of prostitution, as the police report is not being released until a decision is made on potential charges.

Because of a potential conflict of interest with Jewett and other county commissioners overseeing Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney Noelle Moeggenberg's budget, she referred the case to the state attorney general's office for review (the same process followed for other previous county commissioner arrests). An initial mix-up delayed the attorney general's review of the case by almost two weeks, as an email sent from Moeggenberg's office on June 27 contained an attachment that was "probably too big and got rejected by state emails," according to Director Kimberly Bush of the Office of Public Information and Education for Nessel. "The prosecutor did send it, but we didn't receive it." After multiple emails from The Ticker attempting to clarify the status of the case, Nessel's office connected with Moeggenberg's office and then confirmed officially receiving the request on July 9.

On Wednesday, Bush provided an update to The Ticker. "The department has decided to keep the case, and it is currently under review," she said. "As with any case, there is no timeline for review, so we have nothing further to share at this point." The length of time it will take Nessel's office to review Jewett's case and decide whether to press charges is unclear. In February 2021, Nessel's office took up the case of then County Commissioner Ron Clous to review possible charges following an incident in which he displayed a rifle during public comment at a commission meeting. Her office made a decision in that case - determining not to pursue charges - four months later in June 2021.

Jewett has not commented publicly on his arrest to date, though he has remained active as a county commissioner attending meetings and voting on business, including on Wednesday. He is up for reelection this fall in District 4 and does not have any Republican challengers in the August 6 primary, but will face Democratic challenger Fern Spence in the November 5 general election.