Protip: when your attempt to block the courts from letting news organizations see your public-service-related emails makes people on the other side of the political spectrum immediately rub their hands and gleefully wonder, Ooh, what’s in the emails? – well, OK. I don’t know what the victory condition could be there, either. The mere fact that you’re fighting a judgement like that will suggest to pretty much everybody that you have something to hide, win or lose. In other words: it’s a quandary, and no mistake.
Former Oregon first lady Cylvia Hayes declared Wednesday that she will go to court to block a state order requiring her to turn over emails related to her public service… Hayes is under an order issued last week by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to turn over to The Oregonian/OregonLive emails dating back three years pertaining to state business. Rosenblum concluded that Hayes was subject to the state public records law.
Ms. Hayes is taking the position that her (now former) status as Oregon’s First Lady was purely ceremonial, thus keeping her from having to give up any of her email records to the newspapers. As for the fact that Ms. Hayes allegedly interpreted ‘First Lady’ as meaning ‘She Who Holds The Bag Of Swag For The Governor’… well, clearly that’s irrelevant to the larger issue, which is the newspapers can’t have access to her emails because Shut Up. At some point, somebody will probably explain to the woman that the Oregonian will just as happily run articles like this on Ms. Hayes’ legal battles as they would be to run articles on Ms. Hayes’ (allegedly) ethically dodgy cash generation techniques. Which is to say, eventually Cylvia Hayes will have to bite the bullet, and release the emails*.
That’ll be when the fun really starts.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
PS: I wonder who Cylvia Hayes emailed? …Trust me, that’s a question with some teeth to it. Right, Tom Steyer? Oh, yes, this is all about corruption and green energy – yes, yes, I’m being redundant, of course.
*Note that Oregon Democrats have already cut both her and soon-to-be-former Governor John Kitzhaber adrift. No loyalty in that crowd, let me tell you. And ain’t it a shame?