09.11.2008 4:15 pm
Hulshof skirts e-mail question
Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau
Asked how he would resolve the lawsuit over access to Gov. Matt Blunt’s e-mail, Hulshof pauses, then launches into how his administration will be marked by accountability.
He says he considers official correspondence public and “we’ll ultimately resolve that lawsuit” but he doesn’t say how.
Nixon hits back hard, saying that if he’s elected, “we will release the information so it can be viewed in a public fashion. We will not continue this insanity of claiming absolute privilege….We dont need to be paying five or six lawyears to fight for the governor to hide” correspondence.
Why doesn’t the PD ask Nixon why his staff continues to delete all of their emails? It’s something he’s even admitted and yet no one seems to question him on it.
And in terms of “releasing information so it can be viewed in a public fasion,” that’s exactly what Gov. Blunt’s Missouri Accountability Portal does. MAP has been praised by government reform agencies nationwide and is an example of other state governments hoping to provide more transparency.
Better yet, Aviator44, why don’t you take the time you just wasted here and make a Sunshine Law request to Mr. Nixon yourself? If he takes the position that the records you want are closed, he will cite you chapter and verse of the Sunshine Law provision that allows their closure. (Here’s a little hint: He is the ATTORNEY GENERAL for the state, with over 100 assistant attorneys general working for him. Assuming you are not talking about his campaign staff - whose emails are not public records - such records made within the particular state agency he runs might be closed for reasons of attorney-client privilege.) Happy hunting.
Penelope…
Other than the State of Missouri, who would be considered to be a client of the Missouri Attorney General?
ALSO, I’m pretty sure that any email that is transmitted out of, or in to, the AG’s office would lose privileged status because it passes thru other unsecured servers.
AND, the opinions of the AG hold no legal status. They are just opinions.
The Missouri Attorney General is an elected office. Much like the Secretary of State and Treasurer, there are no minimum qualifications; not age, not education, not even residency.
In response to Aviator44:
Without getting into who said what or who did what, I do want to make it clear that Nixon’s staff does NOT delete all their emails. The P-D has made Sunshine requests and obtained e-mails from his office.
So, Hyper, by your logic, any nimrod in the state - including the plaintiffs (and their counsel) in any suit against the state - should have access to privileged material? BTW you can get copies of Jay Nixon’s and his predecessors’ opinions on line 24/7, and you don’t even need to ask anyone.
Penelope…
Work product -NO
e-mail communications that are transmitted in or out of the office -Yes (unless point-to-point encryption is maintained)
The Fix’s bias is so apparent it makes me sick. Nixon has ADMITTED to deleting emails, yet you guys keep pressing on Republicans? Seriously? Why don’t you ask your bff Jay about his admission? Oh, that’s right. You’re too objective to do something so “journalistic” like that. Pathetic.