For Immediate Release – October 18, 2016
Contact: Greg Moore (603) 303-9297
Americans for Prosperity Blasts Governor’s Efforts to Invoke Non-Existent ‘Executive Privilege’ to Illegitimately Hide Documents from Public
MANCHESTER – Americans for Prosperity – New Hampshire (AFP-NH) today blasted Governor Hassan’s office for attempting to hide documents from the public through the use of “executive privilege.” While executive privilege exists at the federal level, it is supported neither in state statute nor in case law. Recently, the state redacted substantial portions of a Right to Know request involving communications with the Governor’s Office, claiming “executive privilege.” AFP-NH filed the request to understand how the state could sole source a $1.2 million contract with an out-of-state vendor that had never done business with state government.
“Clearly, the Governor must have something substantial to hide if she chose to invoke a non-existent exemption to the Right to Know law in order to keep the public in the dark,” said Greg Moore, AFP-NH State Director. “The citizens of New Hampshire should be able to know if the Governor tipped the scales on a contract that represents fairly brazen cronyism. If the Governor wanted her commutations to be off limits to Granite Staters, she should have asked to change the law. Instead, she insults the notion of open, transparent government that we have come to expect at the state level with an illegitimate exemption to state law.”
Details about the Right to Know request are detailed in a story in today’s New Hampshire Union Leader. The focus of the open government request was about a contract to Fedcap, which received a rushed, no-bid contract that was $200,000 over budget, handed to the organization by state officials.
“The contracting process that handed $1.2 million in money from hard-working New Hampshire taxpayers to Fedcap was a disgrace and was a shameful way of doing business,” added Moore. “The public has every right to be outraged by state workers behaving badly. However, with this bogus exemption, our citizens have no idea who to hold accountable for this mess, which apparently is precisely what Governor Hassan wants.”
NOTE: Copies of the AFP-NH Right to Know response are available upon request
Americans for Prosperity exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
