As the Jerry Sandusky trial gets underway this morning, a national NBC News report with new evidence could result in charges against former Penn State President Graham Spanier.

The report claims that investigators have discovered “major new evidence” including a 2001 email exchange between Gary Schultz, Tim Curley, and Spanier where at one point Spanier tells Schultz that it would be “humane” to Sandusky not to involve legal authorities in the 2001 investigation involving Victim 2.

Since his removal as Penn State’s president, Spanier took a federal government job involving national security and recently filed a lawsuit against Penn State regarding access to emails that are currently being held by the Attorney General’s office.

Penn State spokesman David La Torre issued a statement about an hour after the Spanier news broke:

“In the course of former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s independent investigation, e-mails were discovered and immediately turned over to the State Attorney General.” 

“In deference to the legal process, the University cannot comment further on specifics of the ongoing legal case as it unfolds. We continue to work with the State Attorney General, the US Attorney and Judge Freeh in their investigations into this matter.” 

“We will continue to cooperate fully with all legal processes to determine what happened and ensure personal accountability.”

Continue to follow Onward State for updates including our trial guide and live blog.