Five GOP lawmakers settle lawsuit with groups seeking ALEC emails

[PeaceNikki]

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Madison - Five Republican legislators this week settled an open records lawsuit by two liberal groups by agreeing to turn over emails from their personal accounts to and from a conservative organization that works with corporations to draft legislation.

As part of the settlement, the Center for Media and Democracy in Madison and the national group Common Cause will receive $2,520 in attorney's fees and costs from the state and the lawmakers will turn over any records from their email accounts that fit the groups' open records request.

"Defendants recognize that public records may be located in personal email accounts and acknowledge that they have a legal responsibility as elected officials to provide public records to a requester," the settlement reads.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Dane County Circuit Court against Reps. Tyler August of Lake Geneva, Dan Knodl of Germantown, Tom Larson of Colfax, Pat Strachota of West Bend and Jeremy Thiesfeldt of Fond du Lac.

Read more: http://m.jsonline.com/176441471.htm

[Angry Dragon]

1. Why should the $2500 come from the state??

It should come from the pockets of the legislators

[PeaceNikki]

2. agreed. but it should piss the voters in their districts off enough not to vote for their

Obstructionist deceitful asses.

[freshwest]

3. I'd like to think they would, but the repuke faithful will call for less government, I'm sure.

I'm hoping that this will inspire others. The GOP has aimed everything at you. We are proud of all you have done this year.

Hoping Ryan can be sent to the unemployment line and Romney back to wherever most of his money is hidden.

May this court victory be the first of many more.

[WRH2]

4. Good Job,

We need to work at turning Alec membership against those who participated in the conspiracy against voters.
we need this election now and we need to immediately start on the campaign for the election two years from now. Outlaw alec and replace their fucked up laws with Alice legislation.

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. I have been involved in literally 1000s of investigations ...

that traced e-mail communications ...

August said he wouldn't have to turn over any additional records to the two groups since he didn't have any such emails in his personal account. He said that he had complied with the groups' original open records request and as a result "was never worried" about the open records request.

What do you want to bet that there is a e-mail string that points to a e-mail in his private account?

Very few people are thorough enough to completely scrub evidence ... And there is a direct relationship between the Scrubber's confidence level and their propensity to miss evidence.

[PeaceNikki]

6. yeah they found it and included in suit...

An email included in the lawsuit shows Thiesfeldt is involved with ALEC but tries to keep it out of his state email account.

"Please send ALL ALEC material to the Representative's PERSONAL email . . . from now on," says a June email to ALEC sent from Thiesfeldt's state account. "Please do not send his state account (@legis.wi.gov) any more updates. He will keep up through his personal account."

The Center and Common Cause argued that state business conducted on personal accounts must be released under the public records law, and that for lawmakers anything from ALEC relates to state business because the organization helps write legislation.

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. I wonder if ...

the alec communications were sent out through client groupings or listservs ... if so, any capturing one e-mail, to any account, will point to every e-mail sent out by alec on that particular issue.

[Scuba]

8. Thiesfeldt will get away with this as the local rag will NOT cover it.

The Fond du Lac Reporter is in the tank for the R's.