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Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt
JEFFERSON CITY | Independent investigators on Monday alleged that Gov. Matt Blunt or his top aides ordered state computer technicians to destroy copies of e-mail messages that might have been politically damaging.
The accusations came in a 26-page lawsuit filed in Cole County Circuit Court by Mel Fisher, the former head of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who is leading the investigation into the Blunt administration’s handling of public records.
A spokeswoman for the governor’s office called the lawsuit politically motivated and said the administration would not address matters now subject to litigation.
The lawsuit says the Blunt administration tried to arrange the destruction of backup computer tapes that routinely copy every e-mail on the governor’s office computers several times a day. The goal, the lawsuit says, was to block the release of e-mails to reporters, who were investigating political activities by Blunt’s staff while on the state payroll.
Despite requests for the messages under the state Sunshine Law, Blunt or his staff told the state’s top administrator that “everyone’s best interest” would be served if the tapes were allowed to be overwritten with new information, the lawsuit says.
However, when the state’s chief information technology official ordered the backup tapes to be scheduled for deletion, two information technology supervisors refused. The next day, the lawsuit says, a state employee secretly tipped off Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office about the effort to delete the records, triggering the appointment of the independent investigators.
The governor’s office criticized the lawsuit and the investigation as politically motivated. But a spokeswoman would not discuss whether efforts were made to delete potentially damaging public records.
“Now that this issue is in litigation, we’re not going to provide daily running commentary,” spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said. “The fact that Jay Nixon’s political operatives gave this suit to the media before giving it to (the governor’s special lawyer) or to this office shows that this is politically motivated.”
Attempts to destroy the backup tapes are the most serious allegation to emerge from the six-month investigation. The existence of the tipster within the Blunt administration also lends credence to Nixon’s assertion that the inquiry was triggered by possible violations of law and not by Nixon’s political aspirations.
Nixon is the leading Democratic contender for governor and was involved in an often caustic challenge to Blunt when the investigation was announced Nov. 15. He appointed a three-member team of investigators independent of his office and led by Fisher.
Blunt, a Republican, dropped out of the governor’s race in January, saying he had accomplished all his goals.
The events began in October when newspaper and wire service reporters were trying to find out more about political activities by Blunt’s staff. Blunt was denying access or charging huge amounts of money to even look for e-mail messages requested by reporters.
The lawsuit names five current or former members of Blunt’s administration: Ed Martin, former chief of staff; Rich Chrismer, his chief spokesman; Rich AuBuchon, the acting commissioner of administration; Henry Herschel, the governor’s chief counsel; and Dan Ross, the state’s chief information officer.
Martin, Chrismer and AuBuchon could not be reached for comment. Herschel and Ross have refused to discuss the issue in the past.
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