Government emails and credibility
In Monday morning's Anchorage Daily News, Lisa Demer pens a column about how the Palin administration is using personal email acounts to skirt public records laws and withholding emails that rightly should be available to public records requests.
The governor's chief defender is her press secretary Bill McAllister who following in the Palin mode, is wont to cast the blame on others rather than simply explain how an open and transparent government has become closed and secretive.
"I don't hear any public clamor for access to internal communications of the governor's office," McAllister said.
Wrong Bill. In fact there have been numerous requests for access to internal communications that have so far have been refused for seemingly ridiculous reasons.
In July the administration released a list of 78 pages of emails, totalling over 1100 communications that they deemed as executive privilege and refused to release to the public. Many of these have very curious subject titles such as Dan Fagan, Andrew Halcro or The Ear.
"I know there are some people out there blogging and talking who would like to embarrass the governor by taking an internal communication and spinning it in some fashion," McAllister added.
Yes Bill, like the internal communication between you and the governor's infamous right hand man, Frank Bailey, where you are shown negotiating for a job when you were still covering the Palin administration as the political reporter for a local television station?
As part of the recent freedom of information act release of emails from Bailey's state computer, it looks as if McAllister could have been in line for a job as far back as the beginning of April.
On Sunday, April 6, Sheila Toomey printed a blurb in her Ear column that stated that McAllister was preparing to leave KTUU.
McAllister immediately posted a note on his NBC blog stating:
"Sheila Toomey -- aka "The Ear" -- left messages for me this afternoon indicating that she is preparing an item, presumably for Sunday's Anchorage Daily News, saying that I have "given notice" at Channel 2. As I indicated in an e-mail to Sheila afterward, her description of what she was going to write is not strictly accurate. I have not set a date for departure from Channel 2, but there's nothing official yet on the next step."
At 10:44am, McAllister sent an email to Bailey attaching a link to his KTUU blog where McAllister had just posted his blog addressing Toomey's claim he was leaving. "Just wanted to eliminate any possibility of looking presumptuous", McAllister told Bailey.
Ten minutes later, Bailey responded by telling McAllister "As soon as I read the ear this morning I thought 'dang, hope bill doesn't think I said aything on this!
You brought clarity to people all over the State Bill. You're an awesome communicator", Bailey wrote.
Two days later McAllister sent an email to Bailey saying "Still haven't received anything from you, at either email account. FYI." Bailey responded six minutes later; "Let me know if you finally received that from my personal account (last few words redacted)"
It appears clear that McAllister was negotiating a job with the administration while he was still covering them as a reporter during the legislative session. In fact, McAllister continued to cover the Palin administration for another three months after the email exchange.
So hey Bill; if us bloggers are spinning what appears to be a questionable breach of journalistic ethics, feel free to tell us how you were not negotiating for a job while you were still covering the administration for KTUU.
To read the email exchange between Bill McAllister and Frank Bailey, click attachment below.
To read the ADN story on the email:
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/526281.html
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