Environmental Protection Agency hits bottom, keeps digging
From
The Washington Times:
Lawsuit against EPA seeks evidence of hidden messages
Top Environmental Protection Agency officials used computer instant messages to try to circumvent open-records laws, according to a lawsuit filed by a researcher who has been hounding the agency to comply with the law.
Christopher C. Horner, the researcher who earlier uncovered that EPA officials were using private email addresses to conduct official business, said that in going over some of those earlier records he discovered that the agency was using instant messages, too.
He is now suing to get a look at those records, which he said the EPA has been stonewalling.
�It seems we have uncovered yet another major transparency scandal in that either EPA is destroying instant messages against the law, or it is withholding them in defiance of its legal obligations to produce,� Mr. Horner said.
The lawsuit says EPA �has never produced an instant message in response either to a request under FOIA, or in response to a congressional oversight request, despite numerous requests from both for �records� or �electronic records.��
A bit more:
Several House committees launched investigations into how the EPA is complying with open-records laws after Mr. Horner revealed that Ms. Jackson used a private email address under the alias �Richard Windsor� for much of her official correspondence. Mr. Horner also reveals that another high-level employee used his private email to conduct agency business � a violation of the law.
Someone needs to have their budget cut by 80%. If they want more, they have to come before Congress with a plan and accountable transparency.
Posted by DaveH at April 1, 2013 9:29 PM