Update: Sun-Herald reports arrests are expected today.
Did the State Auditor use the Feds to evade the Sun-Herald and a Gulf Coast judge? The Sun-Herald reported:
Acting in concert with the U.S. attorney for Mississippi's Southern District, the State Auditor's Office defied a court order by whisking away public records the Sun Herald was granted the right to review, the judge in the case concluded.
Judge Jennifer Schloegel ordered the State Auditor's Office on Oct. 31 to return business records to the Mississippi Department of Resources so they could be copied for public inspection. Her ruling came in a lawsuit the Sun Herald filed almost 10 months ago to secure the records.
She found that they were public records the DMR created in the course of doing business, not investigative reports exempt from the state Public Records Act, as Auditor Stacey Pickering claimed.
The Sun Herald was making arrangements Monday to get copies when the Auditor's Office revealed a federal grand jury had subpoenaed the documents, commanding that they be brought Tuesday morning to Jackson. Schloegel issued a protective order at 11:30 p.m. Monday to keep the records in Biloxi for copying under court supervision.
But the records, Schloegel and the newspaper learned Tuesday morning, were already gone.
Schloegel told attorneys in the case Tuesday: "It has been relayed now ultimately, finally to me from the federal prosecutor -- I have not spoken to him directly -- but it has been relayed that he has no intention of turning over the records or that they be copied, that they are exempt as an investigative report, and he disagrees with my ruling.
"And I have no choice at this time but to find that the auditor, by acting in cooperation with the federal prosecutor, is in direct contempt of my ruling and my order of last week on Oct. 31, and certainly in direct contempt of my protective order, which I issued last night."
Formal contempt proceedings have not yet been initiated. Meanwhile, Attorney General Jim Hood filed a motion Wednesday to stop all proceedings in the case pending an appeal to the state Supreme Court. His motion says the attorneys assigned to the auditor's office, who ultimately work for Hood, intend to appeal Schloegel's rulings that the DMR records are public and must be provided to the newspaper.
Hood's motion tells Schloegel: "This court was presented with the unenviable task of resolving, largely as a matter of first impression, the interplay between the Mississippi Public Records Act and important bedrock legal principles such as disclosure limitations imposed on prosecutors and law enforcement by state law and rules of court.
For more than a year, the State Auditor's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorney's Office have been investigating the DMR's operations under former Executive Director Bill Walker, who was fired in January.
At the same time, the Sun Herald has documented and reported on mismanagement of the agency. In December and January, the newspaper filed written requests for records from the DMR's Artificial Reef and Emergency Disaster Relief programs. The auditor then subpoenaed the same records, using language similar or identical to the wording in the newspaper's requests.
The auditor then seized the original records rather than allowing the DMR to copy them. The DMR's attorneys, who also work for Hood, say they have been unable to comply with the Sun Herald records requests even though their records are public.
The DMR did give the Sun Herald some of the records sought, on computer disc, shortly after the newspaper sued, but the Auditor's Office has the only copies of other records, including receipts for credit card spending.
With Schloegel's ruling last week, the newspaper appeared on course to inspect the records. State auditor's attorney Melissa Patterson notified Schloegel after business hours Monday about the federal subpoena. The federal subpoena incorporated the exact language from the auditor's January subpoena. Rest of article
18 comments:
This is insane. The Sun Herald wants the state auditor to turn over records in an investigation. That is absurd. Why not go to the Biloxi Police Dept and demand that they give you all of their files regarding whatever recent homicide they are working on.
Really this makes no sense. If they believe the state auditor is handling this wrongly they will have their chance to go after him after the investigation, or after charges are filed. Before then control yourself and your maniacal ego Sun Herald.
In my opinion this was the plan from the start. If the judge ruled in the Sunherald's favor this would be a way to keep the records from the public. Stacey Pickering cannot be described in this matter as anything but a liar. Sorry to be so blunt. Finally, Jim Hood opens his mouth not to make the people of Mississippi whole but to obstruct the hard fought battle for access to the records. I guess he has to be careful to protect the AG attorney who is assigned to the DMR because he and his family has/had an inappropriate contract with the DMR.
Butter your popcorn and settle in because you can bet your ass all of these different folks aren't going through all this for nothing. There is something big and stank ass stinky here.
If the federal investigation was not public knowledge, then the state was trapped to help the feds while keeping the documents confidential. Agree with 9:04, if the feds say "no dice" on the docs, hard to see how a state judge can hold a state official in contempt.
BS. There are different types of public records. State law DOES allow police to seal records generated in an investigation such as witness interviews, fingerprints, and so on.
HOWEVER, records generated by any public body or agency as a course of regular business are not protected just because someone screams investigation. For example, A county builds a road. An engineer submits invoices. They are attached to the minutes. The AG decides to investigate the deal. Under your logic, those records would be sealed. However, you would be wrong as they are normal public records. Under your logic, budgets and minutes could be sealed if someone claimed "investigation".
The SH asked for normal records of DMR. Not anything produced by the auditors office in an investigation. Its funny how some of you oppose the release of public records and then wonder why we are considered to be the most corrupt state in the union.
I think it is obvious that the feds and Pickering are working together and heads on the Coast will roll. They obviously don't want to tip their hand and give the targets an opportunity to use connections to help them out or do anything that would hinder the prosecution.
9:18- It is and has been public knowledge for almost a year that the Feds were investigating the DMR prior to the State Auditor getting involved. In fact Pickering himself has stated they stumbled over the Federal investigation while looking into the mysterious death of DMR Director Bill Walker's executive secretary who, as Pickering found out, had just been interviewed by the FBI a week before her death. That is when he knew the FEDs were involved. What Pickering has going on is a confidence crisis. Nobody should/could believe anything he says at this point. The Feds have shown no interest in the records until the Judge ruled. Just a coincidence for sure.
I know this about Stacey Pickering. He is unprofessional, his office is unprofessional, and he's got a mouth that would make a sailor blush. I'm a conservative, right-wing, tea-party type of guy, and I would take Nancy Pelosi over Pickering. I have dealt with him personally and will say that he is the lowest of the low. Just a terrible human being.
Looks like these Pickering young'ens have some serious problems with honesty.
We need a new State auditor and his first job is to investigate Pickering bunch.
Wow, look at all of the negative comments about Stacey Pickering. Seeing all of the knives out, you'd think he was Steve Seale.
9:18 here again. So the CL says 15 minutes ago that 9 to get indicted and that Auditor, FBI and DOJ investigating for a year. Auditor should be held in contempt? Not defending Pickering, don't care, no dog in that hunt. What I am saying is that it looks like this is a bigger deal than what's been played out in the records request and when the feds say don't produce the docs, the docs don't get produced.
I said 9-10 were going to be indicted a few months ago on this site...the CL is WAY behind on insider info
"We need a new State auditor and his first job is to investigate Pickering bunch. "
This sounds like the Monty Python Mountaineering Sketch: "We're going to form a search party. Their first mission will be to look for the last search party."
Any knives headed Pickering's way from Hinds County were earned completely on his own by the abrogation of his duties.
I will tell you one fact about Pickering. He will lie directly to your face. Biggest piece of crap around. Lies, lies, and more lies. Wouldn't know the truth if it was staring him in the face. I despise the man and I know him personally. No character at all.
The merits of Pickering are beside the point. He was under a court order. Either he could appeal, seeking a stay on the order, or he could comply. He did neither. That is lawless conduct. In a decent state, it would get him impeached.
Reverend Pickering and Mullet Head Hood are the real Culture of Corruption. Nice radio interview Brother Pickering...do you use the word "Nexus" in your Sunday school class?. Gee I feel so safe and compliant knowing you and Hood are such good buddies that you are willing to tamper with evidence and break the law on behalf of the State of MS. With you 2 at the helm we will be 49th before you can shout out Amen Brother!
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