Transparency News, 3/9/20

Monday
March 9, 2020

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state & local news stories

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[After FBI agents came to his house for the second time, though he was not home the second time, former Newport News/Williamsburg airport director Ken] Spirito returned home from out of town that night, he fired off an angry email. Spirito also attached to the email a transcript of a sworn statement that he gave in March 2019 to an attorney representing the airport’s board in his defamation lawsuit against them, telling them that the statement has everything they need to know. A few months later, in September 2019, the transcript that Spirito attached to the email became the basis for a brand new set of charges — four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice — against the former airport executive. FBI agent Christopher Waskey testified last week that the three special agents didn’t know about the Spirito’s sworn statement -- from a deposition in the civil case -- until he shared it with them.
Daily Press

stories of national interest

"[He] also regularly uses his personal cell phone for government business, though he has refused to give the public access to his call logs."

The D.C. government spent at least $12,000 on security for Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) as she traveled the country for Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign, according to records released under a Freedom of Information Act request. Bowser was one of the most energetic surrogates for the former New York mayor’s White House bid. Bloomberg dropped out of the race a day after a disappointing showing on Super Tuesday and endorsed former vice president Joe Biden. The Bloomberg campaign covered the mayor’s travel expenses, a political adviser to the mayor said. But taxpayers paid for security personnel to accompany Bowser. The public records request covered February campaign events in Virginia, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The Washington Post

A federal judge on Thursday sharply criticized Attorney General William P. Barr’s handling of the report by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, saying that Mr. Barr put forward a “distorted” and “misleading” account of its findings and lacked credibility on the topic. The judge ordered the Justice Department to privately show him the portions of the report that were censored in the publicly released version so he could independently verify the justifications for those redactions. The ruling came in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking a full-text version of the report. The differences between the report and Mr. Barr’s description of it “cause the court to seriously question whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller report in favor of President Trump despite certain findings in the redacted version of the Mueller report to the contrary,” wrote Judge Walton, an appointee of President George W. Bush.
The New York Times

President Trump’s company has charged the Secret Service $628,000 in lodging fees since he took office in 2017, according to documents obtained by Public Citizen and an ongoing tally by The Washington Post. The documents show the federal government charged the Secret Service $157,000 more than was previously known after a three-year Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request battle between Public Citizen and the Secret Service. The receipts stem from frequent trips the president has made to his Palm Beach, Fla., estate, Mar-a-Lago, and Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. 
The Hill

Ring, the company owned by Amazon is raising alarm among privacy advocates who warn that one of the world’s wealthiest corporations has created a nationwide surveillance network that tramples people’s rights and fosters racial stereotypes. Ring has immense control over the video that gets archived, uses police departments to spread its influence and governs how police discuss the technology with the public, critics say. Some members of Congress have taken note of the concerns as well. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has requested documents related to Ring’s relationship with law enforcement agencies. The recorded content can offer a wealth of information about people’s work schedules, their vacation time and other personal information.
Governing

Beaufort County, South Carolina, Council Chairman Stu Rodman has said he tries not to use his personal email account for public business. In January, when a group of neighbors filed a public records request to see Rodman’s emails related to a controversial road project, Rodman said he had none from his personal email address. But emails obtained by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette show that Rodman regularly used the account to discuss the Jenkins Island road project and other Beaufort County business. Rodman also regularly uses his personal cell phone for government business, though he has refused to give the public access to his call logs.
The Island Packet

editorials & columns

"Did they have any unseemly business connections in their backgrounds to concern residents of the state? Well, we don’t really know."

The lines for cannabis sales in Illinois have stretched around the block. Shortages are common. Demand is better than expected. It could be a year before supply meets demand. No wonder retail cannabis sales in January, the first month of sales, amounted to nearly $40 million. The $10 million in taxes puts Gov. J.B. Pritzker more than a third of the way toward his estimate of tax revenue for the first half-year of marijuana sales. And who are the investors cashing in on the Illinois weed bonanza? What kind of political contributions did they make? Did they have any unseemly business connections in their backgrounds to concern residents of the state? Well, we don’t really know. That’s because the Freedom of Information Act — the law that protects our right of access to public records — does not apply to the licensing and applications of weed dispensaries.
Chicago Tribune