Larry Nassar sits during his sentencing hearing in Lansing, Michigan. Photo: Carlos Osorio/AP

At least one Michigan State University trustee has called for the resignation of the school's general counsel, Robert Noto, in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

Brian Mosallam, the trustee, wrote on Twitter Monday, “Today I met with the MSU General Counsel. I call for the immediate resignation of Bob Noto followed by an independent review of the legal department's handling of the Nassar matter.”

Neither Mosallam nor Noto responded to calls for comment.

To beef up its legal department, the board of trustees met Wednesday morning and picked former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, a Democrat, to be a senior adviser on government relations and legal affairs, according to the Detroit Free Press. Blanchard also served as the U.S. ambassador to Canada under President Bill Clinton and later became a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of DLA Piper.

The board also named former Michigan Gov. John Engler, a Republican, as the school's interim president, amid student and faculty protests, the newspaper reported.

The criticism of the university's legal department came after reports on how a Title IX sexual abuse complaint against Nassar, a university sports doctor, was handled in 2014. Kristine Moore, an in-house counsel who later became an assistant general counsel to Noto, filed a report clearing Nassar of the charges.

But the Free Press said the final report lacked details included in an earlier draft. The draft called Nassar a liability to the university whose work “is exposing patients to unnecessary trauma based on the possibility of perceived inappropriate sexual misconduct.” The final report given to the abuse victim did not include that language.

Nassar continued to abuse student athletes into mid-2016, when multiple complaints became public. The Free Press said more than 265 women have now filed complaints against Nassar, and more are expected.

In other MSU developments:

• Nassar was in Eaton County, Michigan, court Wednesday in his third sentencing hearing on more charges of sexual abuse in that county. Some 65 women and girls are expected to speak. The doctor was already sentenced in federal court last December to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges, and in Ingham County court last week to between 40 and 175 years for sexual abuse in that county. Nassar, 54, will serve the federal term first, then the county sentences concurrently.
• Economic fallout from the scandal includes Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday placing MSU under review for a ratings downgrade due to credit risk. The review affects some $975 million of long-term debt, according to Moody's, which cited the potential liability of over 100 civil lawsuits filed by victims against the school.
• The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Monday to enact a law that would make it mandatory for amateur athletic organizations such as USA Gymnastics, where Nassar also examined and abused athletes, to report allegations of sexual assault immediately to law enforcement. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate.