Blunt files Sunshine request against Harris

Blunt requested records dating back to 2003.

By Andrew Denney
May 9, 2008

One day after Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia, criticized Gov. Matt Blunt on the House floor for his alleged mishandling of public records, Blunt’s office has requested several years worth of electronic records from Harris’ office.

In a letter to Harris’ office Wednesday, Blunt Chief of Staff Trish Vincent requested all e-mail received by and sent by Harris’ office since January 2003, as well as any documents created on or received by state-owned computers in Harris’ office during the same time period.

“In your campaign for attorney general, you have announced your ardent support for Missouri’s Sunshine Act,” Vincent said in the letter. “I wanted to provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate that commitment.”

The request comes after Harris, a Democratic attorney general candidate, commended unnamed staffers from Blunt’s office for not following the alleged orders of their superiors to destroy back-up tapes of e-mails, which had been the subject of a open-records request by The Associated Press.

Harris said Blunt’s office issued the request because the governor does not want him to become attorney general.

“This is clearly a politically motivated attempt to try and intimidate me,” Harris said. “I will not be intimidated.”

Harris said he would comply with the request.

“I have always been willing to stand up to this governor when important principles are at stake,” Harris said in a statement. “I will continue to call for him to be held accountable for his alleged illegal actions in ordering the destruction of public records after a Sunshine law request had been filed with his office.”

A lawsuit was filed Monday by C.E. Fisher, a special investigator appointed by Attorney General Jay Nixon. A Cole County judge will determine if Blunt had broken state law in his handling of the records.

Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said in an e-mail the investigators informed the media of the lawsuit before the Cole County judge or Blunt’s office.

“The fact that Jay Nixon’s political operatives gave this to the media before Judge Holstein or this office shows that this is politically motivated,” Robinson said.

Nixon is a Democratic candidate for governor.

Robinson also said Blunt’s office would consider suit against former Nixon staffers for an open-records request filed by Blunt’s office to which Nixon’s office has “failed to fully respond.”

According to the lawsuit filed Monday, which names Blunt and Chief Information Officer Daniel Ross as defendants, the Springfield News-Leader filed an open-records request last fall for records of electronic correspondence between then-Chief of Staff Ed Martin and political supporters of Blunt.

The newspaper was told the requested information could not be produced.

Scott Eckersley, an attorney then working in Blunt’s office, allegedly told members of Blunt’s staff that the office e-mail retention policy violated state law, and was summarily terminated from the office.

Shortly thereafter, Eckersley brought suit against Blunt’s staff and the Associated Press issued a request for the e-mail records.

In response to the AP’s request, the Office of Administration set the tapes aside.

The lawsuit stated that Blunt or one of his staffers informed administration commissioner Rich AuBuchon “that it would be in everyone’s best interest” if the e-mail records were destroyed.

Nixon appointed an investigative team to the matter Nov. 15, after an unnamed state employee informed Nixon’s office of the possible destruction of the tapes.

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Blunt files Sunshine request against Harris

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