* As I told you yesterday, a judge has ruled that Gov. Blagojevich must hand over federal subpoenas requested through the state’s Freedom of Information Act. But we’re not gonna see them for quite a while…
[Sangamon County Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley] did not order the governor to immediately hand over the documents to the Better Government Association, which sued to get them.
He will not order that as long as there is an appeal pending. Blagojevich lawyer Thomas Londrigan said an appeal was certain.
* Even so, it seems doubtful that the governor will ever prevail…
Kelley ruled that Blagojevich aides showed no ‘’competent evidence'’ that secrecy remained vital, despite a standard statement that accompanied the subpoenas saying disclosure could hamper an investigation.
* Their case stinks…
In defending Blagojevich, Londrigan said releasing subpoenas violates federal criminal laws. He said the BGA was trying to circumvent federal law by asking a judge to use state public-access law to decide the matter. But answering a question from Kelley, Londrigan acknowledged that a witness who has received a subpoena can’t be reprimanded for revealing it. And he pointed out that Blagojevich is a public official, so documents he receives become public records under the FOIA.
Oops.
* The BGA’s Jay Stewart was not pleased with the prospect of an appeal…
“If the governor actually believed any of his rhetoric about ethics, there wouldn’t be any appeal,” Stewart said. “The last thing he really wants to do is level with the public and let them know what’s going on with his administration.”
* The bills from these FOIA cases are piling up…
The governor’s quest for secrecy is getting expensive for taxpayers. According to the state comptroller’s office, the state has paid more than $150,000 to private attorneys who are representing the governor’s office in FOIA lawsuits aimed at prying loose the subpoenas.
The state has paid more than $33,800 to Londrigan, Potter and Randle, a Springfield law firm that is representing the governor in the BGA lawsuit. Taxpayers have paid another $124,850 to Bell, Boyd and Lloyd, a Chicago firm that is representing Blagojevich in a pending FOIA lawsuit filed in Cook County by Judicial Watch, a Washington, D.C., government watchdog group seeking the same subpoenas.