Updated at 7:05 p.m.
A deposition of former Blunt administration lawyer Scott Eckersley released this week adds new detail to alleged attempts to circumvent state open-records law in the governor’s office.
Eckersley was fired last year, after he says he warned officials their statements on the Sunshine Law were inaccurate. He’s since filed a wrongful termination and defamation lawsuit against Gov. Matt Blunt and his office.
In the deposition, which was taken for a separate lawsuit brought by representatives for the state attorney general’s office, Eckersley described former Blunt Chief of Staff Ed Martin gloating over how he avoided turning over e-mails requested by Tony Messenger, then a columnist for the Springfield News-Leader.
Martin is accused in the case of violating the Sunshine Law.
Below are the relevant lines from the deposition, which was taken under oath. The questions were asked by Lou Leonatti, one of the court-appointed special assistant attorneys general prosecuting the case.
Eckersley described how he handled a Sunshine Law request Messenger filed with the governor’s office in late August of 2007. Upon receiving the request, which sought e-mails to and from Martin regarding abortion issues and the Supreme Court, Eckersley asked Martin whether he should forward the request to the whole staff or just Martin.
5 Q. Did you get any instructions back from him as to
6 whether you would send that out to all staff or
7 just to him?
8 A. I think he asked me to come down to his office.
9 In fact, he did ask me to come down. I don't
10 remember if he e-mailed or called, but I came down
11 and he said, "What is it, who is it," and I said
12 "Messenger, and it's looking at" -- I said, "It
13 seems pretty specific" or something to that
14 effect. And he started laughing and said -- kind
15 of like he pulled one over on Messenger because
16 Chrismer was the one that had those e-mails. And
17 he said, "I've deleted them all already." He
18 said, "I've deleted everything." He said,
19 "Chrismer's the one that has those e-mails."
20 Q. Let me be very specific. This is -- Mr. Martin is
21 telling you that he had deleted all those e-mails,
22 that the e-mails were in the possession of
23 Chrismer?
24 A. That's right.
25 Q. Mr. Chrismer?
1 A. That's right.
Martin and Rich Chrismer, Blunt's top communications official, later told Messenger no records matched his request. The records were always available on e-mail backup tapes.
Later in the deposition, Leonatti specifically asks Eckersley whether he sought the records from Chrismer in order to comply with Messenger's request. He says he did not:
20 Q. Now, did you ask Mr. Chrismer for those e-mails?
21 A. I did not.
22 Q. Why not?
23 A. 'Cause I was told not to and -- I was just told
24 not to.
25 Q. Who told you not to?
1 A. Ed Martin.
2 Q. Did he specifically direct you not to get those
3 e-mails from Mr. Chrismer or is that an assumption
4 that you made?
5 A. It was a really clear assumption that I made.
6 Q. What did you base that assumption on?
7 A. Me asking him if I should send this to other
8 folks, him saying no, and then referencing that
9 Chrismer had those e-mails and that he had deleted
10 them all. I'm sorry, that Martin had deleted the
11 e-mails anyway and Chrismer had them. It would
12 have been silly for me to assume anything other
13 than I'm not supposed to go ask anyway.
Taken with previous accounts and e-mail documentation, Eckersley’s testimony indicates Martin was aware that records existed that matched the request, but denied them anyway. If true, such actions would be a clear violation of the Sunshine Law.
Keep at it, keep digging. The arrogance of government...
that I have personally experienced with the City of Gardner, Ks. and the Jo. Co. Commissioners makes me want to say keep at it until these practices are stopped in their tracks and are never returned to our halls of government. In my opinion, until decency is the rule of the day, we will continue to have big time problems.