Vermont to fight effort to force Dean to unseal papers

[Karmadillo]

Not a surprising development, but it will be interesting to see how far the scope of executive privilege extends.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/12/23/politics1524EST0608.DTL

Vermont Attorney General to file papers in Dean record case

The state of Vermont will fight efforts to force open the gubernatorial records of Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, Attorney General William Sorrell said Tuesday.

The attorney general's office planned to respond late Tuesday to a lawsuit filed by the Washington-based Judicial Watch seeking to unseal the documents, which Dean's rivals for the Democratic nomination for president have used to criticize Dean's calls for openness in government.

"We think we've got a strong case here," said Sorrell, an aide to Dean when he was governor. "The Vermont Supreme Court has repeatedly acknowledged the validity of executive privilege."

At issue are 145 boxes of papers that Dean ordered sealed for 10 years when he left office in January. He also gave the state 190 boxes that were available to the public immediately.

more...

[jmaier]

1. I don't really think that the issue

is one of validity of executive privilege but rather the advisability of exercising that executive privilege. This applies to Bush/Cheney and it applies to democrats as well.

[denverbill]

6. So if Bush opens his, Dean will too. That's a fair trade.

But seeing how Bush's records are STILL sealed, 4 years after his election, and seeing how they won't be unsealed until after Nov 2004, I see no reason for Dean to bother opening his either.

[KittyWampus]

8. So Cheney's Energy Meetings W/Enron Executives Can't Be An Issue W/Dean

Ah well.

[denverbill]

10. When the Vermont legislature subpoenas them, OK.

Then it's the same issue as Cheney's energy papers - executive privilege versus balance of power.

Until then, if Bush doesn't open his gubernatorial records from 4 years ago, why should Dean open his from 2 years ago? Shrub can't use this as an issue, so why potentially give him any ammunition?

[cavebat2000]

2. Hum.

Just wondering if the media attention on Dean is good or bad at this point.

[denverbill]

7. It's amazing that the 'liberal' media never made this an issue for *.

Remember all that brou-ha-ha and the big media stir in 2000 when Bush sealed his gubernatorial records? Yeah, me too.

And remember all that brou-ha-ha when he finally did open them? Yeah, me too.

Oh wait. That was in my dreams. In real life, there was no media brou-ha-ha and Bush still hasn't unsealed his records.

[LuminousX]

3. an Eye towards precedent

Will it become mandatory for state's to open sealed records of people running for higher office? Isn't this stepping on state's rights?

Dean has done the right thing, but I disagree that the records should be opened for fishing expeditions. If specific documents are wanted, then let those who want them go through the courts. Dean has no reason to help others dig up dirt on him.

[impeach the gop]

4. States Rights?

States Rights,you say? We don't need no stinking States Rights, so says the supremes about Florida that is. And any other state that gets in their greedy little way!

[TorchTheWitch]

5. that's not the issue

Will it become mandatory for state's to open sealed records of people running for higher office? Isn't this stepping on state's rights?

That's not the issue. The issue is that the reason that Dean sealed the records by invoking executive privilege is invalid according to Vermont law.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/107/deancomp.htm
<snip>
This action seeks Defendants' compliance with the Vermont Access to Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. §§ 315 to 320. Defendants have steadfastly refused to disclose hundreds of thousands of pages of public records and papers of former Vermont Governor and current United States presidential candidate, Dr. Howard Dean, based solely on an unsupported, blanket claim of "executive privilege" as memorialized in a "Memorandum of Understanding" that Dr. Dean negotiated with the other Defendants. However, some five months before officially announcing his candidacy for president, Dr. Dean acknowledged (on Vermont Public Radio) that this secrecy is motivated by "future political considerations" and the desire to prevent "anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time in any future endeavor." This is not a legitimate basis for refusing to release public documents.

...

Vermont's Access to Public Records Act declares: "Officers of government are trustees and servants of the people and it is in the public interest to enable any person to review and criticize their decisions even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment." 1 V.S.A. § 315. The Act permits "ny person" to "inspect or copy any public record or document...." 1 V.S.A. § 316.

...

There is no Vermont statute or other law that authorizes a governor (or anyone else, for that matter) to enter into a "Memorandum of Understanding" as a means of preventing public review of a governor's official correspondence.
<end snip>

[LuminousX]

12. Then the judge has a clear ruling to make...

but I have a feeling it won't fly. They've allowed past governors to seal records.

[TorchTheWitch]

24. couple of points

Then the judge has a clear ruling to make... but I have a feeling it won't fly.

Actually, other Dean supporters have said here that since Dean was sued he turned over the records to be opened already, and the only ruling the judge would be making is which documents need to have pertinent parts redacted for the privacy of Vermonters. The problem with this is that there are so many records that by the time they are available for inspection, he could conceivably be the nominee or even president already, when the entire point to having him open the records is so that voters have the opportunity to make an informed decision whether or not to cast their vote for him.

However, in the event that what those supports stated here regarding this matter, is in fact, not true, Dean is still in the position to allow any or all of the sealed records to be released now, and so far he has been unwilling to do so. He is also still able to do that if what other Dean supporters have stated here is true and that the judge is in the process of merely redacting parts having to do with privacy. In either situation, Dean himself is still able to release whatever sealed records the opposing party is interested in seeing now, judge or no judge.

It is for this reason that the parties attempting to have the records made public before votes are cast are putting pressure on Dean to open them himself...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A57807-2003Dec11?language=printer
<snip>
Responding to the mounting criticism, Dean said this week that he would leave the matter up to the judge in the Judicial Watch lawsuit. Deputy Secretary of State William A. Dalton, whose staff oversees the archives, said a decision could be months away, but he is preparing his staff for the possibility that the court, or Dean himself, will make some documents available sooner.

Fitton, of Judicial Watch, said that Dean is trying to delay the process. Last year, three Vermont newspapers sued for access to Dean's schedules. It took several months for a judge to rule that some should be made public. "It is clearly a stall tactic to say, 'Let the judge decide,' " Fitton said. "Once people realize that, the pressure to open them up himself will increase."
<end snip>

*Tom Fitton is Judicial Watch President
http://www.judicialwatch.org/3536.shtml

In any event, clearly, the records were sealed in violation of Vermont law as stated in the suit. Read the suit. Read the supporting documentation. Read the laws that were cited. There is actually little hope that a judge could rule that the records remain sealed. They were sealed in violation of the law... on what grounds could a judge allow them to remain sealed? Even if the judge were actually bribed to keep them sealed (and I'm not suggesting this would be a possibility), he or she would still have to come up with a valid arguement for that, and in this case, the law is clear, and there is too much supporting evidence for there to be any real reason to keep the records sealed. Even if a judge could figure out a way to make that fly, it would be overturned on appeal. This reasoning has long since been examined by the parties bringing the suit, which is why they claim that Dean's decision to let the judge decide is a tactical maneuver to run out the clock. Having seen similar cases myself, I tend to agree.

They've allowed past governors to seal records.

Indeed they have. However, in this case, what is at issue is not the FACT that Dean sealed certain records but that the REASON he sealed those records is invalid according to Vermont law, which I noted in my previous post #5. Certainly a former governor of Vermont is allowed to seal certain records, but the REASON for doing so must be in accordance with the law, and is this case, it simply is not.

[Scott Lee]

15. Wow, isn't JudicialWatch that good old repug Klayman's outfit?

You know, I'll bet it is!

[TorchTheWitch]

19. good grief

That's right. Can't come up with a decent arguement on the issue at hand, so bash the group that brought the suit. And I might add that JudicialWatch is the same outfit that regularly brings actions against the U.S. government. They recently filed suit against the Senate for allegedly abusing its power in relation to judicial appointments, in 2000 sued Rudy Giuliani regarding his fundraising practices during a campaign for the Senate... oh yes, and they're currently suing Cheney for the release of the Energy Task Force records... must be a bunch of right-wing clowns, huh?

Incidently, you didn't mention the co-counsel on Dean's suit, Andrew D. Manitsky, in Vermont. Surely he must be some kind of incompitent right-wing nutball, too, right? :eyes:

Whether the JudicialWatch attorney, Paul J. Orfanedes, and the Vermont co-counsel are complete bone-heads immeterial at this point since the simple fact remains that after fighting this issue for months on end, Dean folded when they filed suit, turned over the records to a judge and made no attempt to fight the suit. Perhaps you should have let him know what a bunch of losers were suing him so he didn't have to start being so much more cooperative. How disappointing for him not to be able to rely on one of his own supporters to let him know that the folks suing him are bozos and he didn't have to fold at all. :eyes:

[readmylips]

9. I'm Howard Dean, leader of the right-wing Democratic Party...

and fook you with your fishing expedition!

[Scott Lee]

14. You've got Dean mixed up with Lieberman

not that I can understand the confusion, but there it is anyway.

[retyred]

11. I'm shocked I tell you

shocked, how could this happen? I thought for sure they'd want dean's records opened to prove dean did nothing wrong, this, this.....Oh wait, Attorney General William Sorrell, isn't this the same William Sorrell that dean appointed and lifelong friend of dean and his family....um, never mind!

Can we all say Status Quo boys and girls? I knew we could.



retyred in fla
“good night paul, wherever you are”
So I read this book

[jumptheshadow]

18. Yes, this is more of the same

Dean is just another politician. This will be just one more area where he won't have the credibility to challenge the administration.

This elected officials are our employees. We have the right to see their papers, especially if they are running on their records, like Dean is.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

25. "Dean is just another politician"

Yep. We've noticed- at least those of us paying attention have.

[AP]

13. Isn't Sorrell Dean's long-time buddy?

If so, isn't it crazy of Dean to say "I'm not challenging the suit" when he knows full well his buddy is going to defend it vigorously and when he could waive privilege if he wanted to?

[Rose Siding]

16. Yes, but he was elected

and Dean isn't even free to unseal all of them:

snip>
Dean doesn't control all the records, said Sorrell, who was appointed to the post by Dean and later elected. "If Howard Dean were to say tomorrow 'I'd like to see them opened,' that's not to say they'd all be opened."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25027-2003Dec23.html

[AP]

17. Which ones doesn't he control and why?

Clinton waived his privilege over all his docs except the ones he didn't control -- nat'l security docs.

I suspect that the ones Dean doesn't control are minimal and not the ones the public (like me) wants to see -- the deal with Enron, and similar docs.

[KaraokeKarlton]

23. What "deal with Enron"?

I know full well that you and I have been over that whole silly captive thing several times. You also know full well the "tax cut" went into effect in 1993 and that Enron didn't open their captive until 1995. Dean didn't give Enron a tax cut. Vermont captives got a tax cut and Enron decided to take advantage of it two years later. On top of that, the whole Enron debacle was years from happening and they were NOT a common topic of conversation or well known as corporate crooks as they are now.

Why, pray tell, do you continuously seek to make something out of nothing? I'm just going to assume that those of you who dislike Dean just have nothing to really criticize the man on since all I'm seeing is the constant regurgitating of false information and previously debunked nonsense.

[sandnsea]

22. Uncontested in 1997

After Dean had made Sorrell the Secretary of Administration and after Dean had tried to get Sorrell appointed as the Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles8/Frank_Dean-Sorrell-Corruption.htm

[sandnsea]

21. Sorrell's mother got Dean into politics

Sorrell's grandmother was a long time Democratic party loyalist. They're a little more than just buddys. I never really thought there was anything in those records, that it was just campaign politics. Now, with the entry of William Sorrell, I know better. Something is definitely in those records.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles8/Frank_Dean-Sorrell-Corruption.htm

[amyforclark04]

20. If I'm supposed to trust Dean...

Then he should just open up the records, unless that could hurt him in any way....

He's defiant just like the time he refused to apologize for saying inflammatory comments about the confederate flag...hmmm...still can't trust him.