For Immediate Release
Contact: Luke Bolar (202) 224-4623
January 15, 2013
Vitter: Lisa Jackson’s “Richard Windsor” Emails Released are Fishy
Vitter suggests EPA may be violating FOIA standards
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) made the following statement today after the outgoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson released a portion of her emails that have been under scrutiny for using a secondary email alias, “Richard Windsor.” The EPA has also redacted names in the emails using a Freedom of Information Act exemption that does not apply to the released emails.
“This strikes me as incredibly fishy and begs a number of important questions,” Vitter said.
“The EPA needs to honor the President’s pledge of transparency and release these documents without redaction of the Administrator’s email address – a big first step toward removing the blanket of secrecy in this agency.”
EPA redacted the email address used by Administrator Jackson citing FOIA exemption B6 – an exemption only to be used to protect personal privacy. The application of exemption B6 to a work email address for the EPA Administration would not apply. Additionally EPA has previously relied on a different FOIA exemption to redact the Administrator’s alias account in other document productions.
Among the most important of questions is whether EPA made a material misrepresentation to Congress when it responded to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chairman Ralph Hall on December 12, 2012. In this response to Congress, the EPA Associate Administrator cited a long-standing practice for Agency Administrators to use two email accounts, one for public use and one for “everyday, working email[s].” Evidence of EPA precedent for multiple email accounts is defined in a 2008 memo to the National Archives and Records Administration, which explained that “secondary e-mail accounts are configured so the account holder’s name appears in the ‘sent by’ field.” However, if this were the case, then there would be no need to redact the email address as EPA routinely releases emails that contain “Lisa P. Jackson” in the “to” or “sent” fields and it would not be considered to be “personal information.”
“EPA’s supposed reliance on ‘precedent’ is especially misleading because they’re clearly using a separate and distinct practice than previous Administrations. And if ‘Richard Windsor’ is no more than a standard work email account, why not share the unredacted versions and prove it to the American public?” asked Vitter.
When the email investigation was made public, Vitter suggested that Lisa Jackson may have resigned in part because of this.
· Click here to read the December 12, 2012 letter from the EPA Associate Administrator to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chairman Ralph Hall.
· Click here to read the April 11, 2008 EPA letter from EPA Agency Records Officer John Ellis to the National Archives and Records Administration.
· Click here to read the January 14, 2013 EPA-Released Documents.
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Buy popcorn futures – if there is any spare corn after the requirement for biofuels has been met.
Let the obfuscation begins.
Sad, really.
It is fishey and wraped in “The Chicago Way” fish wrap.
Free the EPA information
Do it now.
This absurd EPA resistance to release of court ordered freedom of EPA information can only mean there is something very bad that the EPA wants to hide. There is no reasonable plausible other explanation.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE IMPLICATED IN COURT ORDERED EPA EMAIL RELEASE? Who wants to bet the Executive Office (US President) is involved in some serious bad behavior wrt the EPA? That would raise the government’s willingness to stonewall by several orders of magnitude.
CEI, I thank you for your focus on this problematic EPA secretive behavior.
John
I have no faith any of this will be resolved to the satisfaction of the EPA’s critics. I become more cynical with each passing year.
And down the rabbit hole we go.
Contempt of Court?
Here is the transparency standard Obama formally demanded:
Transparency and Open Government
Please, let US all eschew “beg the question.”
1. (philosophy, logic) To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii).
2. (proscribed) To raise or prompt a question.
It’s time bring these government servants into court and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. They are not representing the constitution, the American people or what were once regarded as fundamental American principles.
The problem is the perps will NEVER, EVER release any information damaging to themselves. Even if required by law. These people feel that laws only apply to the little people. No one in this administration will ever get more than a slap on the wrist for disregarding the law.
This is going to get much bigger.
Jackson is already on her way out, so what else or who else are they so keen to cover up here?
Redacting the sender’s address is so obviously unnecessary (if they are telling the truth) and the grounds for doing so, so obviously not applicable they must trying to hide more than the use of a sole “Richard Windsor” alias.
I suspect Chris Hohner’s persistence is going to reap more rewards than he suspected.
Not just fishy; but unrefrigerated, week-old fish. Brought to you courtesy of the “most transparent administration, ever”.
“My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy”
Ahha. The weasel words. He can,and has, changed both laws and policy by executive order. So why not a few FOIA rules,laws,and policies?
Culture of corruption – EPA edition…
If this is an accurate quote from the Senator it is disappointing. If it was written by his press person it is even more disappointing. The EPA redaction raises a number of important questions; it does not beg them. See Petitio Principii.
. .oh to have someone in the EPA (or other close government agency that can access EPA e-mails,docs, servers, etc), to accomplish the same thing as that wonderful person in the CRU at the Univ. of East Anglia . . . !
. . . well, we can dream, can’t we . . . oh, and if someone who reads this blog is in that situation, please take this as a request . . .!
Doug Huffman says:
January 15, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Sorry Doug; I didn’t notice you’d already covered my pet peeve over “beg the question”.
apachewhoknows says:
January 15, 2013 at 12:12 pm
It is fishey and wraped in “The Chicago Way” fish wrap.
=========================
In other news, 18 human heads are found at O’Hare airport…
Yeah, they are representing their foreign lobbyists who want access to our wealth, technology, IP, and markets (low tariffs) AND, they want our government to put reins on our economy and way of life so they can catch up somewhere to us during our downfall. (Contraction and Convergence?)
Doug Huffman says:
January 15, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Please, let US all eschew “beg the question.”
================================
Dude’s a congresscritter. Cut him some slack.
In keeping with the Orwellian practice of modern government, we can expect the opposite to be true of almost every claim made at the top. They are attempting to, “bring peace to the Middle East” and “reduce the deficit” and “lower taxes for those who make under $200,000.” The man in charge claimed that he would personally ensure the “most transparent government, ever.” He also promised to defend the Constitution of the United States of America, to close Gitmo, and to cause the seas to begin to recede.
Is there anyone who actually thinks the government will suddenly start telling us the truth? Not me.
I wonder just how many Richard Windsors there are in the EPA and in the rest of the administration.
The time frame of interest would be the middle of 2009 through 2010. This was when the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was defeated in the Senate, and President Obama directed the EPA to make an end run around Congress with regulations on Carbon Dioxide. Emails during this time are probably secured below the event horizon. Should Mr. Chris Horner get too close to one of these emails, watch for the impenetrable shield of “executive privilege” to be invoked à la “Fast and Furious”.
It’s the fault of George W. Bush. This administration is the most honest, open, transparent in the history of the republic. What with the Czars running around, reporting directly to the Chief Executive, surely we know what they are all doing. After all, shadow heads of government departments are accountable to… well, someone. We want to reduce the deficit too, but “responsibly”.
And pigs fly. 1984 came and stayed.