Milwaukee TV station sues Evers for refusing to release his emails
MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers is facing another lawsuit over transparency within his administration, this time over his refusal to release emails.
Milwaukee TV news station FOX6 is suing the governor after he refused to release a day’s worth of emails, saying the reporter’s request was not limited to emails about a specific subject matter.
The news station, represented by the Wisconsin Transparency Project, ultimately received some of the records but only after it filed the lawsuit last week.
While Evers held off on releasing emails to FOX6 until the matter wound up in court, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel received a day’s worth of emails in response to a request the newspaper made after FOX6’s request was denied.
The governor hasn’t said why one news outlet was not provided a day’s worth of emails but another was.
FOX6’s initial request sought emails sent and received by the governor over a longer length of time before it was narrowed to emails from one day. The news station also requested emails from Evers’ chief of staff Maggie Gau, which was denied because the request didn’t specify a topic. The lawsuit seeks release of all emails requested.
“Requiring requesters to know ahead of time what is in the emails they wish to see is inconsistent with the purpose of the Open Records Law: entitling the public to “the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them,’” the lawsuit says.
The new governor’s attitude toward public scrutiny is itself under a microscope a year into his first term after Republicans who control the Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker shook public confidence in 2015 by attempting to remove key portions of the public records law, keeping many more records — including emails — from public view.
The episode angered thousands and put journalists and open government advocates on high alert ever since.
Evers’ legal counsel told the Journal Sentinel in November the office was releasing the governor’s emails because it was making an exception to a portion of the public records law that says a request for records “is deemed sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or the information requested.”
Thomas Kamenick, an attorney representing FOX6 and president of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, said FOX6 reached out to the governor’s office after the Journal Sentinel reported Evers had released emails to the newspaper but did not receive a response until after the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday.
The letter to the news station accompanying the released emails is dated Monday, however.
“The governor is committed to complying with state law and guidance from current and past attorneys general while ensuring transparency and accountability for the people of Wisconsin,” Britt Cudaback, spokeswoman for Evers, said Thursday. “Hopefully the legislature will demonstrate the same commitment to transparency and accountability by changing the law so they’re no longer permitted to destroy their public records.”
Lawmakers are not required to retain records under state law but state agencies and Evers must.
Kamenick said the lawsuit seeks to make more clear what the law requires from Evers and other elected officials. Attorney General Josh Kaul and the Department of Justice earlier this month released to the Journal Sentinel emails for one day but said a court could rule that such a request must include a topic.
“They are taking a position that I think is on the wrong side of the law but it is not clearly established rule from the courts,” Kamenick said.
Evers and his legal team contend that portion of state law requires requests for emailed communication to include a specific topic and until last week said emails wouldn’t be released without one.
“We have to obey the law — that’s the problem,” Evers told reporters on Nov. 13. “We have people who are willing to help folks that need that information to do it in a way that’s consistent with state law but we’re not going to go in a different direction than state law — it’s important to follow the law.”
Thursday’s lawsuit comes after Republican Rep. John Nygren of Marinette sued the governor’s office after Evers’ office denied a request Nygren made in August for documents mentioning GOP lawmakers and mental health services for farmers.
Nygren made a similar request to the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The department provided its records to Nygren, but Evers’ attorney denied the request to the governor’s office, arguing it was overly broad.
The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, which has a news service that employs conservative reporters that cover Wisconsin state government and politics, also sued Evers in federal court earlier this year.
The conservative group alleges Evers has violated its writers’ rights to free speech and equal access by not notifying them about the governor’s public appearances or inviting them to media events.
Evers’ spokeswoman at the time said the administration “provides many opportunities for both reporters and the public to attend open events with the governor” and that Evers is committed to openness.