Parson cites ongoing Sunshine case to deny Star’s request for emails about ’407.1500’
Gov. Mike Parson’s office has denied The Star’s request for emails containing the number “407.1500” that would reveal how often it uses a specific state law to withhold records.
Why? In an ironic twist, a state official says an ongoing lawsuit that’s already trying to pry more information from the governor’s office allows them to keep the records secret.
Attorneys for Parson filed a motion last week in the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District seeking a court order shielding the governor’s office from having to turn over the documents under an earlier, identical request. Attorney Mark Pedroli is involved in a legal battle over the state Sunshine Law that dates back to former Gov. Eric Greitens’ use of the message-destroying app Confide while in office.
After Parson’s attorneys filed the motion, The Star filed its own request for the same documents. On Monday, Parson’s custodian of records, Taylor Jones, denied the request — citing the Sunshine case involving Pedroli. Jones referenced a state law that allows, but does not require, records related to legal actions and litigation involving public governmental bodies to be closed.
“The records you request are closed or confidential under Missouri law,” Jones wrote.
In the Sunshine lawsuit, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem ruled in 2019 that the use of Confide by Greitens, who is now running for U.S. Senate, and his staff didn’t violate state law. The ruling was a blow to transparency advocates and Ben Sansone, an open government activist who filed the suit.
Beetem in December 2020 then found the governor’s office had illegally redacted information, only to reverse his decision weeks later. Sansone, represented by Pedroli, appealed in April, sending the case to the Court of Appeals.
Pedroli last month filed a Sunshine request for emails sent and received by the governor’s office since 2017 with the keyword “407.1500” — a reference to the Missouri law the office has previously cited to deny requests for cell phone numbers used by the governor that are part of the current appeals case.
The law, which isn’t about records disclosure, allows the attorney general to sue businesses and organizations when they fail to provide notice of a breach of personal information. A circuit court judge has previously said the decision to cite the law to deny records represented a “novel approach” and suggested the argument is a stretch.
Last Wednesday, Parson’s attorneys filed for a protective order in the appeals case that would ensure Parson doesn’t have to turn over the documents to Sansone. The court hasn’t taken action yet on the filing.
