The New General Counsel’s Files: University of Michigan Reports No Patricia Petrowski Foerster/Petrou Records in 2016–2017 — Then Records Exist in 2018 and Are Withheld
After Timothy Lynch left the University of Michigan, Patricia Petrowski became Vice President and General Counsel. Petrowski had barely appeared in the documentary record assembled by this archive concerning Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou. That prompted a simple question: what Foerster/Petrou records were associated with Petrowski and her staff?
The University’s answers reveal a clear breakpoint: none for 2016 or 2017; responsive records exist for 2018 and 2019, but the University is withholding them in full under attorney-client privilege.
After Timothy Lynch
On July 7, 2026, Dr. Foerster sent then-General Counsel Timothy Lynch a detailed documentary notice concerning University and law-enforcement investigations involving Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou. The next day, the University announced that Lynch would be leaving.
That sequence is documented in “Timothy Lynch Documentary Notice — University of Michigan and Law-Enforcement Investigations.”
A separate FOIA request for Lynch’s Foerster/Petrou records had already been pending for nearly a year. After repeated extensions, the University ultimately confirmed that responsive Lynch records existed—but withheld the entire file under attorney-client privilege.
That history is documented in “The Disappearing OGC Timothy Lynch File at the University of Michigan.”
After Petrowski became General Counsel, Dr. Foerster submitted separate year-by-year FOIA requests for records prepared, owned, used, possessed, or retained by Petrowski or her staff concerning Dr. Foerster and/or Dr. Petrou.
2016–2017 — No Records
For 2016, the University responded:
“Your request is denied because there are no responsive records.”
For 2017, the University gave the same answer.
For those first two years, the University reported no responsive records.
2018–2019 — The Answer Changes
For 2018, the University gave a different answer:
“Responsive records that exist are exempt and withheld from disclosure…”
The University invoked the Michigan FOIA exemption for information or records subject to attorney-client privilege.
For 2019, the University gave the same response.
The year-by-year determinations therefore establish something that was not previously visible in the archive: UM reports no responsive records for 2016 or 2017, but confirms that responsive records exist for 2018 and 2019.
The determinations do not disclose what those records contain or why the result changes beginning with the 2018 period searched.
The Informational Asymmetry
The timing is notable.
In 2018, the HHS-OIG/FBI investigation involving NIH Grant R01NS082304 was underway, Dr. Petrou resigned from the University of Michigan, and the University initiated Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 proceedings involving Dr. Foerster.
The FOIA determinations do not establish that the withheld Petrowski records concern any of those events.
But they do reveal an informational asymmetry: by the 2018 period searched, responsive records concerning Dr. Foerster and/or Dr. Petrou existed within the University’s legal office, while Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou did not know what those records contained.
Another OGC File the Public Cannot See
The parallel with the Timothy Lynch file is straightforward. After nearly a year of processing and repeated extensions, UM confirmed that responsive Lynch records existed but withheld the file under attorney-client privilege.
Now UM has confirmed that responsive records associated with Petrowski and/or her staff exist for 2018 and 2019 as well.
Their contents remain unknown.
The records exist. The public just cannot see them.
Source Documents
On September 21, 2026, the University of Michigan denied the request for Patricia Petrowski records concerning Dr. Bradley Foerster and/or Dr. Myria Petrou for January 1 through December 31, 2016, stating: “Your request is denied because there are no responsive records.”
On September 21, 2026, the University gave the same answer for the January 1 through December 31, 2017 period: “Your request is denied because there are no responsive records.”
On September 22, 2026, the answer changed. For the January 1 through December 31, 2018 period, the University stated: “Responsive records that exist are exempt and withheld from disclosure” under the Michigan FOIA exemption for information or records subject to attorney-client privilege.
On September 22, 2026, the University gave the same answer for the January 1 through December 31, 2019 period: “Responsive records that exist are exempt and withheld from disclosure” under the attorney-client privilege exemption.
Selected Reporting
- Bradley Foerster Submits 140-Exhibit, 1,121-Page Documentary Chronology to FBI for Supervisory Review of the Investigation Involving Dr. Bradley Foerster, Dr. Myria Petrou, and Duaa Altaee
- From One FBI File to a Legislative Proposal: Peter and Maria Foerster Ask Senator Van Hollen's Office and Congressman Jamie Raskin to Consider a Uniform Administrative Framework for Federal Investigations
- Eva Feldman Documentary Chronology: 139 Exhibits on NIH R01NS082304, University Proceedings, and Federal Investigation — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Send Ann Arbor Officials Documentary Chronology on AAPD and Related Federal Investigations — No Response Received
- Timothy Lynch Documentary Chronology: 63 Exhibits on University of Michigan Office of General Counsel, University Investigations, and Law Enforcement — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Documentary Chronology: 8 Exhibits Document More Than Two Years of Efforts to Trace Bank of Ann Arbor's $1.4 Million Sheriff's Sale Credit Bid — No Response Received
Brad Foerster, MD PhD
Brad Foerster is a FOIA advocate documenting requests, transparency disputes, and accountability investigations involving public agencies, universities, police oversight, and Russia-Gate related inquiries. His work compiles original documents, timelines, and analysis of public records and institutional responses. Brad is also a board-certified radiologist, author of Town & Gown, and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles. Brad lives in Potomac, Maryland with his family and is a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society and the Takoma Park U.S. & World History Book Club.