NJ.com: "Bridge scandal: Governor's office declines to release personal emails of top aides"

[lindysalsagal]

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/bridge_scandal_governors_office_declines_to_release_personal_emails_of_top_aides.html#incart_river

By Salvador Rizzo/The Star-Ledger
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on January 24, 2014 at 2:53 PM, updated January 24, 2014 at 5:17 PM

ENTON — Gov. Chris Christie's office has declined to release emails from the personal accounts of two top aides to the governor involved in the George Washington Bridge scandal, according to a liberal super PAC based in Washington.

American Bridge, a pro-Democratic group that conducts opposition research on Republicans, said today that it filed a request under New Jersey's Open Public Records Act for the emails. Christie's office denied it in a letter dated Thursday, the group said.

The super PAC focused on two of Christie's top aides: chief spokesman Michael Drewniak and former deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly


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[riderinthestorm]

1. Has he learned nothing? Its the coverup baby... nt

[Agschmid]

2. Houses of cards often fall...

[jsr]

3. "A new era of accountability and transparency” for New Jersey

[neverforget]

7. transparency for thee but not for me

[calimary]

12. Transparency as in - hey, christie, we see through you! And we're not the only ones who can

say that, anymore!

We all see through you now. You can't hide anymore. And you can only fool the avowed fools and the foolish. I think that would be the GOP and the teabaggers. In either order!

[okaawhatever]

4. That's kinda dumb considering there is proof that they switched from their gov't email

to their private emails midway through their bridge discussions. You can pretty much tell exactly when one of them knew what they were doing was illegal. When he switched from his government blackberry/smart phone to his private one. I don't always believe in releasing personal info when someone has a government job, but when there's proof that you used it for government business you're kinda screwed.

[loudsue]

9. But that is an issue for a judge and a warrant, not an

open records request. By the nature of it being personal e-mails, a judge would need to issue a warrant to a prosecutor for an investigation by a prosecutor. Private e-mails are still private, until a prosecutor convinces a judge that they might NOT be private....which is what I'm sure will happen fairly soon, if it hasn't already gotten into the works.

[SunSeeker]

11. That is my understanding as well.

There are many types of docs an agency need not produce pursuant to a public records request. And the requester who feels he's been wrongly denied docs has to sue the agency to compel production. All litigation is expensive and time consuming.

Public records requests, something any person can make, have nowhere near the power of a subpoena by a state attorney general/legislature or a USDOJ subpoena.

[okaawhatever]

15. Oh, okay. I was surprised because they complied with the subpoenas and that's how we found out

about the conversation moving from their gov't email to their private one. I don't think someone should have to turn over all their private emails to reporters even when there is an ongoing investigation. I just hope the judge or the committee will release the relevant info sooner rather than later. The main stream media is barely covering this as it is, the more factual info that comes out the better.

[hrmjustin]

5. Well so much for cooperating.

[Auntie Bush]

10. What did we expect? Christy said he'd cooperate on all appropriate inquiries.

Guess he doesn't think that it's appropriate to give over their cell phones. End of story.

[flamingdem]

6. I want to know if the computers used have been identified

and if there will be a trace of them left if they've been deleted

[EC]

8. well, I guess that settles that...

he knew.

[lindysalsagal]

16. Right. He's told then not to release them

to save his own arse.

He thinks we're pretty stupid.

[rocktivity]

13. Government employees aren't supposed to use private email accounts

to conduct (legitimate) government business.


rocktivity

[Historic NY]

14. The state does not control personal accounts....

there is a dividing line between person cell phone and government work..How can the government claim its protected when it isn't theirs?

[SoCalDem]

17. Did ANYONE really think they would comply?

My guess is that there will be a LOT of new computers and phones..with old ones at the bottom of any river in the vicinity..or smashed to bits.

Remember when Mittens left MA? They got rid of all the computers..