Palin Witholds E-mails

[Nuthatch]

Governor Is Asked To Release E-Mails

By Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 10, 2008; Page A04

WASILLA, Alaska, Sept. 9 -- Gov. Sarah Palin is being asked by a local Republican activist to release more than 1,100 e-mails she withheld from a public records request, including 40 that were copied to her husband, Todd.


Palin had claimed executive privilege for documents copied to her husband, who is not a state employee, in responding to an open records request in June made by Andrée McLeod, an activist in Anchorage. The administrative appeal filed yesterday by McLeod's attorney, Donald C. Mitchell, argued that by copying Todd Palin on sensitive state correspondence, the governor and her aides shattered the privilege rightly afforded elected officials.

"She has allowed Todd Palin -- who has not been elected by the people of Alaska, who is not a state employee -- to entangle himself apparently as he sees fit in the operations of the executive branch of the state government," Mitchell said.


"From the case law, if government voluntarily opens up that internal decision-making to what I would call civilians, then that is waiver of that protection of the government policy decision-making process. That is what happened here, and it happened because Sarah Palin doesn't understand it," he said.

Todd Palin was frequently copied on e-mails relating to Alaska State Troopers and the union representing public safety employees, according to McLeod, who received four boxes of redacted e-mails in response to her request. At the time, both Sarah and Todd Palin were complaining to the state public safety commissioner about a disciplinary matter involving Sarah Palin's ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper.

Palin also routinely does government business from a Yahoo address, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, rather than her secure official state e-mail address, according to documents already made public.

"Whoops!" Palin aide Frank Bailey wrote, after addressing an e-mail to the governor's official state address. "Frank, This is not the Governor's personal account," a secretary reminded him.

Calls seeking response from the governor were not immediately returned by a Palin spokesperson. Palin last month described McLeod as a disgruntled former employee, though in 2004 Palin endorsed her as a state House candidate "not afraid to stand up for what's right."

Mitchell's appeal, addressed to Palin in her capacity as the decision-maker on the earlier records request, questions the wisdom of the governor and her aides shipping messages about state business between their public and private e-mail accounts "with complete and total abandon," he said.

"There's a reason the governor should be using her own official e-mail channels, because of security and encryption," the lawyer said. "She's running state business out of Yahoo?"
On March 17, minutes after peppering a state official about whether e-mails about state business contained on a personal BlackBerry could become public, senior Palin aide Ivy Frye addressed a message to both Palins and two other aides: "In sum, it's just as I thought -- questions of confidentiality are still unanswered by law."

McLeod, a former state employee who once was close to Palin, filed an ethics complaint last month against Palin and others. She cited e-mail traffic that appeared to show that the governor's office improperly helped a Palin fundraiser obtain a civil service position.

"By withholding these emails, Sarah Palin has broken on her promise of being open, honest and transparent," McLeod said in a statement. "It's old-school politics and not the kind of reform she pledged to Alaskans."

 

[Nuthatch]

She wanted someone else fired? And she doesn't have a secretary to make hard copies for her?


From Anchorage Daily News (www.adn.com) dated July 25, 2008

Todd Palin's role
Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: July 25, 2008 - 8:06 pm

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

It's not uncommon for Gov. Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, to be included on governor's office e-mails, a fact raising questions about how much influence the "First Dude" has in state government.

Palin critics recently put in a public records request for the state e-mails that Palin special assistant Ivy Frye and Frank Bailey, the governor's director of boards and commissions, sent this spring. They were trying to find proof the staffers had worked on state time to try and get Randy Ruedrich replaced as chair of the state Republican Party. They hadn't found any, last I spoke to them, but were still going through the boxes of e-mails.

Much of the Frye/Bailey e-mail traffic, though, was either blacked out or denied altogether by the state on the basis of "deliberative process" or "privacy/personnel." (UPDATE: Andrew Halcro, on his blog, has posted the whole spreadsheet listing the e-mails that were denied, with subject lines, recipients and dates.)

That includes many e-mails Todd Palin exchanged with members of the governor's staff - e-mails with subject lines like "re: PSEA (Public Safety Employees of Alaska) Ads", "re: PR campaign" and "re: Parental consent abortion bill." It's impossible to know what they are about, since the state refuses to say.

Those who made the requests plan to appeal the denial, arguing among other things that e-mails can't be kept from the public because of executive "deliberative process" if Todd Palin, who is not a state employee, is being copied on them.

"I don't know why (Todd) is being copied on everything," said Zane Henning, who made the public records request on behalf of the Last Frontier Foundation, which Henning described as a conservative group from the Mat-Su Valley

Andree McLeod of Anchorage, who separately put in a public records request for the same e-mails, also questioned Todd Palin's involvement. Here's a sampling of some of the e-mails copied to Todd.

Todd Palin has been in the news lately with fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan saying Todd tried to pressure him to fire a state trooper who went through a bitter divorce with the governor's sister. Todd Palin has said the family was concerned the trooper was a threat to the governor's safety but that he never told Monegan to fire the trooper.

Todd Palin is now on the North Slope working his job as an operator for BP and I haven't been able to talk to him about the e-mails. Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said she couldn't speak to specific e-mails to Todd Palin from members of the governor's staff, since the state found them not to be public record.

But here's her statement:

"As First Gentleman, the governor was telling me that, at their home in Wasilla, they are inundated with phone calls and e-mails to their personal accounts, and Todd does pass that information on to the governor. And vice versa. The governor works with a Blackberry and she forwards e-mails to Todd to print off because she likes to have a hard copy in front of her," Leighow said.

I asked her about e-mails between Todd Palin and members of the governor's staff. Leighow replied in an e-mail "that it would not be uncommon for Todd to pass along information he receives on his personal e-mail account. It would also not be uncommon for him to pass along e-
mails and become part of a string."

Former state legislator Andrew Halcro, a fierce Palin critic who lost to her in the 2006 race for governor, cited the e-mails in a post on his blog about Todd Palin entitled "Shadow Governor?"

One of the e-mail strings the state wouldn't release to the public for "deliberative process/executive" reasons had the subject line "re: Andrew Halcro."


The e-mail string began with a 7:41 a.m. e-mail on Feb. 1 from Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell to Sarah Palin. Parnell included Todd Palin in the next e-mail about it, and he was included in the rest of the string.

Halcro's "Shadow Governor? " blog post also dealt with John Bitney, who was fired as Palin's legislative liaison and now works for House Speaker John Harris. Halcro wrote that "in June of 2007, it became known that Bitney was dating the soon to be ex-wife of Todd Palin's good friend. Palin reportedly began demanding that Bitney be fired."
Anchorage state Rep. Mike Hawker told me today that "everything I have read in Andrew Halcro's blog post is consistent with conversations I have had with Mr. Bitney." Hawker said he doesn't know how much influence Todd Palin has.

When I spoke to Bitney, he didn't want to discuss the specifics of his firing, saying it was personal. Bitney said he doesn't know what role Todd Palin played in his dismissal but "I don't hold anything against the Palins. I understood why I had to go."

Bitney, when speaking of Todd Palin's overall influence within the Palin administration, said "I don't know if his involvement was more or less appropriate or more or less than any other governor's spouse."

"He's the husband of the governor. So I don't know how to quantify that. When I saw him in the office, he's usually there because he's the dad and they have children and kids needs to be picked up and stuff. In my view most of this is just people who have political disagreements with the governor," Bitney said.

House Majority Leader Ralph Samuels told me Todd Palin was present at the only meeting Samuels ever personally set up with the governor. Samuels said it "was a little unusual, I didn't think it was a big deal." Samuels said Todd Palin was never at any of the House-Senate leadership meetings held with the governor.

 

[TheSearcher]

I was wondering why the Dems are hanging their hopes on this investigation, and it just dawned on me:

Under the assumption this doesn't slow prevent a Pubbie win (and that's my expectation), I would bet the doubts sowed here will be used against the McCain-Palin administration.

Imagine, they try to clean out Foggy Bottom, now they'll be second-guessed: "Did you fire Under-undersecratary Snidely Whiplash for personal reasons, madame VP?"

 

[fruit loop]

She could be in big trouble over this if it's true.

North Carolina governor Mike Easley (a Dem, by the way), just got his butt slammed for this very thing.

 

[Nuthatch]

Sorry, but using a Yahoo account is not something that builds faith in a leader. Good night nurse. In other words, she can fully control access, storage, etc. of that account. No transperancy. Using the office provided encryption, recording, etc. would mean she would have to follow the rules.

And Fruit Loop, thanks for that heads-up. Here's an article about it:

Carolina Journal Exclusives
Media Sue Easley Over Public Records
Carolina Journal and nine other media members join in the lawsuit

By Mitch Kokai
April 15, 2008


CJ file photo

A lawsuit brought by members of the North Carolina media alleges that Gov. Mike Easley (above) and his staff have violated the state’s Public Records Law.
RALEIGH — Carolina Journal and nine other North Carolina news organizations filed a civil lawsuit against Gov. Mike Easley on Monday, claiming multiple and “systematic” violations of the N.C. Public Records Law.

The plaintiffs asked a judge to “enter a judgment declaring that policies and procedures promulgated and implemented on behalf of the defendant [Easley] and the actions taken by him as alleged … violate the Public Records Law,” according to the complaint filed in Wake County Superior Court.

Joining CJ in the complaint were The News & Observer of Raleigh, The Charlotte Observer, The Fayetteville Observer, The Associated Press, and the N.C. Press Association. Other plaintiffs were: Media General Operations, which publishes 10 N.C. newspapers, including the Winston-Salem Journal; Freedom Communications and Freedom Eastern North Carolina Communications, which together publish seven N.C. newspapers; The Wilson Daily Times; and Boney Publishers, which publishes The Alamance News.

“Our position is that the policies of the governor and of those who act at his direction or under his authority violate the Public Records Law as it relates to retention of documents — in this case, most frequently e-mail documents — but other documents as well,” said Amanda Martin, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

The suit contends Easley and his staff violated the state’s Public Records Law by: mandating that certain e-mail records be destroyed, destroying at least one written document, devising e-mail retention policies that deviated from the law, and failing to provide for preservation of public records.

The plaintiffs asked for a court order “permanently restraining and enjoining” the governor and his staff from pursuing illegal policies. They also requested that the court require compliance with the Public Records Law and order the governor’s office “to take all measures available to them to retrieve any public records that they deleted, disposed of, lost, or failed to preserve in violation of the Public Records Law.”

The suit also asked the court to compel Easley to make available all requested public records that have been withheld from the plaintiffs, and it asked the court to force Easley to foot the legal bill.

The first alleged violation stemmed from The N&O’s recent investigations of the state’s funding, delivery, and oversight of mental health services. “In part this action arises out of the defendant’s failure, refusal, or inability to provide access to e-mail messages and other public records that were known or believed to be in the defendant’s custody,” according to the complaint.

Failure to produce the records “was attributable in part to the systematic deletion, destruction, or concealment of e-mail messages sent from or received by the Governor’s Office,” the lawsuit alleges.

That allegation stems from an affidavit filed by Debbie Crane, who was fired March 4 as N.C. Department of Health and Human Services public affairs director.

“Based on Ms. Crane’s affidavit and other information the plaintiffs are informed and believe that during the defendant’s tenure as Governor, members of his staff regularly discouraged the persons responsible for communicating with the Governor’s Office from sending e-mail messages to the office in order to avoid creating records that would be subject to disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Law, particularly if the subject matter of the communication was controversial,” according to the suit.

“Members of the defendant’s staff also instructed cabinet agency employees that if they did send e-mail messages to the Governor’s Office such messages were to be deleted from their computers’ ‘Sent Mail’ boxes immediately after they were sent, and that they should then go to their files for ‘Trash’ or ‘Deleted Messages’ and delete them again,” the complaint says. “A purpose of this ‘double delete’ procedure was to remove the messages from the employees’ personal computers so they would not be recorded and archived by the nightly ‘back-up’ of their computer files.”

That e-mail deletion policy and procedure was “intended to be comprehensive” and was implemented “willfully and for the purpose of evading the Public Records Law and depriving the people of North Carolina of access to information and records in violation of the Public Records Law,” according to the complaint.

The second alleged public records violation stems from a comment Easley made to reporters last month. Easley said he had received a handwritten note or message from former Health and Human Services Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom. The governor told reporters the note addressed some of the issues of mental health oversight reporters had been pursuing.

When reporters asked to see the note, Easley is quoted as responding that he “chunked” it. “The defendant personally destroyed the communication in violation of the Public Records Law,” according to the complaint. “On the basis of public statements by the defendant, plaintiffs are further informed and believe that he very likely has personally discarded or destroyed other public records in violation of the Public Records Law.”

The third alleged violation focuses on an e-mail retention document from the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, which oversees public records issues for executive branch agencies. Guidelines within the document “fail to comply with the Public Records Law in several respects,” according to the complaint.

“They provide State employees and officials who send and receive e-mail with criteria that are inconsistent with the Public Records Law for determining whether a particular e-mail message is or is not ‘made or received in connection with the transaction of public business’ or is ‘used to transact public business,’” the suit says.

“They authorize individual e-mail users to delete or dispose of e-mail messages that are made or received in connection with the transaction of public business if they are of ‘short-term value’ or ‘when they no longer have reference value to the sender or receiver of the message [emphasis in the original document]. Neither of these disposal criteria is authorized by the Public Records Law.”

The Cultural Resources guidelines are also inconsistent with court rulings “holding that the law is to be interpreted expansively and liberally in order to maximize public access to government records,” according to the suit.

The fourth alleged violation asserts that the governor and his cabinet agencies do not have “adequate” electronic data-processing systems for storage or retrieval of e-mail messages sent or received in connection with transaction of public business.

Article III, Section 4 of the state’s governing document provides that “The Governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” Because of each of the violations, the suit contends “the defendant has failed to carry out his duties” set out in the Constitution.

“The plaintiffs are basically seeking two things: a declaration that the policies, procedures, and actions of the governor and those who act at his direction or under his authority violated the Public Records Law and an injunction to stop further violations,” Martin said.

Mitch Kokai is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.

 

[fruit loop]

Easley also created a job with a hefty salary for his wife, so she could take junkets all over the world at taxpayer expense, ostensibly so she can "promote North Carolina tourism."

What a dolt. I'm so glad I didn't vote for him in the last election.
(that's right. I voted for Patrick Ballantine, a Republican. Don't tell daddy)

 

[Nuthatch]

That's a heck of a lawsuit against Easely: the AP and about 20 newspapers---that's a lot of clout behind it.

Seriously, why didn't an advisor explain to her how the .gov email system works and why she needed to use it.

 

[shadowboxer]

She could be in big trouble over this if it's true.

North Carolina governor Mike Easley (a Dem, by the way), just got his butt slammed for this very thing.

Not under Alaskan law. Executive privilege extends to informal advisors.

 

[Nuthatch]

Ok, so she can send the info to whoever she would like: as long as it doesn't violate classification of data or personnel matters or, I don't know, security in general. A YAHOO account? I can't believe she was that stupid.

Read the 4 points in the Easley suit. Interesting.

 

[Nuthatch]

Just wanted to add, that using the Yahoo account is not only mickey-mouse, but it opens up that Yahoo account and her home computer to scrutiny unnecessarily. Do you think she ever said something personal through that account? And now she might have to let it all out. Risky business.

 

[fruit loop]

Doesn't matter if it was a Yahoo account. If it was state government business, then it's open record. She could also be accused of covert actions by USING a Yahoo! account instead of a state email account. We got warned about that, too, since a lot of agencies use Yahoo! e-groups to as newsletters.

 

[shadowboxer]

Ok, so she can send the info to whoever she would like: as long as it doesn't violate classification of data or personnel matters or, I don't know, security in general. A YAHOO account? I can't believe she was that stupid.

Read the 4 points in the Easley suit. Interesting.

Yes, if she claims that she was asking for advice, she can transfer those emails any way she wants. So, like other media fishing trips it will slowly wind its way through the courts and after the election executive privilege will either be upheld or denied but to late. Legal precedent is available in her defense. Look up the previous governors claims of executive privilege. You will see similarities.

 

[shadowboxer]

Doesn't matter if it was a Yahoo account. If it was state government business, then it's open record. She could also be accused of covert actions by USING a Yahoo! account instead of a state email account. We got warned about that, too, since a lot of agencies use Yahoo! e-groups to as newsletters.

Not exactly clear cut under Alaskan law. Your reaching on covert actions. You have no executive privilage, but in Alaska the governor does. The sunshine laws in Alaska are not as good as in other states.

 

[shadowboxer]

http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Alaska Might be a starting point for all would be lawyers and from there they can look up the individual statutory laws involved.

 

[kozanne]

Ms. McLeod ran as a Republican in 2004 for a seat in the House. See attached.

 

[Grantbo]

I don't recall FL asking for Hitlary to release her internal corespondence that sits in the clinton library. I guess it wasn't as important as Palins, huh?

 

[fruit loop]

Hillary was not holding office at the time that Bill was president. She should be forced to comply with government open records if she's withholding anything as a senator.

 

[Nuthatch]

Continuing breaking news.....

 

[Emcomus]

Not exactly clear cut under Alaskan law. Your reaching on covert actions. You have no executive privilage, but in Alaska the governor does. The sunshine laws in Alaska are not as good as in other states.

Sarah:"Honey, make sure you pick up some milk on the way home!"

 

[kozanne]