Blunt Plays Hardball: Requests Nixon Emails

Governor Matt Blunt's office issued a Sunshine request to Attorney General Jay Nixon's office late Wednesday, seeking e-mails from current and former employees.

A report to the Attorney General on how Governor Blunt and his staff handled or deleted office emails was due next week. But Nixon has extended the investigation until June. Blunt's office said getting the documents will cost Nixon's office $540,000.

Late Wednesday, the Governor's office said it would consider a lawsuit against the Attorney General's office and staff members if they do not comply with the Sunshine request.

A release said the open records request is in response to a September 24, 2007, report by the Associated Press that Scott Holste, a staff member of Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office, said the Attorney General’s office routinely deletes e-mails. Holste asserted that “a lot” of what the Attorney General’s office does would not have to be retained and also stated he deletes many of his e-mails.

The governor's office wants:

• E-mails from Holste and two other workers who are not attorneys,



• Copies of all email backup tapes or other storage mechanism for March 12, 2008, all emails and other documents that discuss email backup systems, procedures, practices and protocols



• All emails and other documents that discuss email retention policies, practices and protocols in the Attorney General’s office.



• All e-mails and other documents between the Attorney General’s office and the Pleban committee he appointed to examine the e-mail policy of the governor’s office, including e-mails from Max Knust who abruptly quit the committee and had to be replaced by Nixon.