Investigating Power
Now that GOP state legislators have control over 32 state legislatures (both chambers), thanks in large part to partisan gerrymandering, some extremists are preparing to use their clout to gerrymander the US Senate.
On Feb. 21, four days after he the Senate narrowly confirmed his nomination, the Oklahoma attorney general’s office released 7,564 pages of Pruitt’s emails under court order following a lawsuit from the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy. The correspondence showed Pruitt using his personal email for official purposes, contradicting his testimony.
A national media watchdog group has sued the Utah attorney general’s office in state court, alleging the state’s top law enforcement agency is hiding information about its dealings with what the group calls politically conservative “cash-for influence” organizations.
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) filed the suit Monday in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court after Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office refused to comply with public records requests for email communications and documents that would detail the relationship between Reyes, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF).
A left-leaning advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes that seeks documents from his office detailing his ties to one of his chief political donors, the Republican Attorney Generals Association.
The Wisconsin-based Center for Media and Democracy said Tuesday that it filed a lawsuit in Utah against Reyes’ office. The lawsuit filed Monday seeks emails and other documents about the Republican official’s dealings with the Republican attorneys general group and its partner organization, the Rule of Law Defense Fund.
A government watchdog group is suing the Utah Attorney General’s Office for allegedly refusing to release documents related to Attorney General Sean Reyes’ ties with the Republican Attorneys General Association.
The Center for Media and Democracy argues in a 3rd District Court lawsuit that the office is violating Utah’s open records law in not turning over emails and other correspondence with the attorneys general association and its partner organization, the Rule of Law Defense Fund.
According to the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy, corporate sponsors of ALEC include Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Peabody Energy and PhRMA.
In the last few years, Republican-controlled state legislatures have intensified the use of what are known as pre-emption laws, to block towns and cities from adopting measures favored by the left. The states aren’t merely overruling local laws; they’ve walled off whole new realms where local governments aren’t allowed to govern at all.
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“It’s like quick-fire,” said Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, which tracks pre-emption bills. “Once it passes some place, other legislatures go, ‘Oh, we could just pre-empt all of this.’ “
Pruitt’s dodging of public records requests in recent years prompted the Center for Media and Democracy to file a lawsuit in February alleging that Pruitt violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act “for failing to provide public access to official emails and other documents for more than two years.” The lawsuit also asks the attorney general not to destroy any documents that are relevant to CMD’s open records requests. As a result of the lawsuit, the attorney general released 7,564 emails and other records. The lawsuit is still pending in court.
The International Climate Science Coalition and other denial organizations have roots reaching into companies like ExxonMobil. Even though they say their donations come from individuals, the coalition received a $45,000 donation in 2007 from the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank, according to SourceWatch.
“If single payer ever took off anywhere, it could threaten their anti-government messages,” Mary Bottari, of the Center for Media and Democracy, told Truthout in a previous interview about the Kochs’ activities on health policy.