Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
AG releases eight pages from DHS file
Rutledge says fuss over old records a ‘distraction’ in bid for re-election
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge released previously redacted pages from her decade-old state personnel file Wednesday, saying she wished to clear up a “distraction” that has reared up in her two campaigns, including this year’s re-election bid.
Rutledge’s decision to release the eight additional pages from her year of service at the Department of Human Services came after she said she viewed the records herself for the first time since they became controversial four years ago in the Republican’s first bid for attorney general.
In a suit filed by state Democrats, Pulaski County Judge Timothy Fox ruled Monday that the Human Services Department should make the redacted records public. But his order remained unfulfilled as of the close of business Wednesday as the agency weighed whether to appeal.
Rutledge’s opponent in the Nov. 6 general election, Democrat Mike Lee, had also called for the release of the records.
The eight pages included references to two recorded instances of Rutledge — then an attorney in the Children and Family Services Division — being warned about her actions by supervisors. But the attorney general told reporters Wednesday that she couldn’t recall one of the instances happening.
Otherwise, her supervisors rated Rutledge’s performance at the time as “satisfactory” across the board, the records show.
Rutledge left the job at the Children and Family Services Division, a branch of the Human Services Department, in December 2007 to work on the presidential campaign of former Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Rutledge gave no prior notice to her supervisors at the time, she admitted Wednesday. She said her resignation became immediate on the Monday that it was announced so that she could fly to Delaware and work for the campaign. She said she spent about eight hours on a Sunday, the day before she quit, preparing her cases to be turned over to someone else.
Her personnel file shows that it was amended after she left to say that she was terminated for “gross misconduct” instead of stating she voluntarily resigned. Rutledge also was placed on a “do-not-rehire” list by her former supervisor.
In 2014, her redacted personnel file was released during her first campaign for attorney general. Rutledge has disputed the accuracy of the records, saying that they appeared to be tampered with by “vindictive” former bosses.
But it was not until Wednesday that Rutledge actually requested to see her file, including the redacted pages, for herself. After viewing the pages, Rutledge said she decided to call a news conference Wednesday afternoon to release them.
“Being 15 minutes late is as bad as it gets,” Rutledge said, referring to a “counseling” she received in May 2007 for failing to show up in court on time and properly prepare a caseworker for that hearing.
The “counseling statement” from that instance included in her file did not rise to the level of a formal disciplinary action, Rutledge said.
But later, a notice of disciplinary action included in her record states that in October 2007, a social worker subpoenaed to appear in court in one of Rutledge’s cases was unable to reach her after calling for two days.
The notice states that Rutledge received a written warning. However, the document is not signed by either Rutledge or her supervisor, nor is it dated. Rutledge said Wednesday that she recalled the case and confusion with the social worker, but that she does not remember ever receiving a written disciplinary warning.
Questioning the validity of the notice, Rutledge suggested it may have been added to her record after her departure by the same supervisors who amended her file to say that she had been terminated for gross misconduct.
In addition to the eight pages from her file, Rutledge also distributed to reporters several pages of emails between her supervisors that her campaign released earlier in the week.
In each of the emails, Rutledge’s former bosses refer to her departure as voluntary, and none state she was fired, though they also hint at displeasure at the sudden departure.
“I want this done before Christmas in case anyone else flies the coop,” said one supervisor, Kay West Forrest, in an email. “I cannot believe Leslie …”
Asked about her relationship with her former bosses, including Forrest and a supervisor named Lisa McGee, Rutledge said they got along well but that there were “clear ideological differences” related to her work on Republican campaigns.
After turning in her resignation, Rutledge said her bosses asked her to stay on another two weeks.
“Looking back,” she said, she would have stayed longer if it would have prevented issues with her record from turning up years later during her own political campaigns.
She added that she could “wholeheartedly say” that no cases involving children were negatively impacted by her departure.
Forrest could not be reached Wednesday evening. McGee, who requested the “do-not-rehire” designation be placed on Rutledge’s record, has not returned several requests for comment this week.
Amy Webb, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, said she did not work at the agency at the same time as Rutledge, and could not comment on the attorney general’s characterization of her relationship with supervisors. Webb did, however, say there were errors in the handling of Rutledge’s file.
“When the change was made to her file, she should have been notified,” Webb said. “We failed to do that.”
At the news conference Wednesday, Rutledge called on Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the department to appeal Fox’s decision to release the records, despite having distributed them herself. Rutledge said Fox’s decision set a bad precedent for employee records subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act — which generally exempts evaluation records when an employee has voluntarily resigned.
Webb said attorneys at the agency are still weighing whether to appeal Fox’s decision.
Chris Burks, the attorney for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said Wednesday that he would continue to pursue the release of the records under Fox’s order.
“We’re not afraid of the precedent this sets because the order follows the law,” Burks said.
Lee, Rutledge’s opponent, has scheduled a news conference this afternoon to address the matter.