DOJ takes nine months to release records
The Wisconsin State Journal writes today that the Wisconsin Department of Justice took nine months to release records responsive to a public records request – a request that sought records regarding the DOJ’s investigation of Gov. Doyle aide Georgia Thompson.
According to the WSJ: “State investigators kept open an alleged corruption case for six months last year after a federal appeals court struck down the only prosecution in the high-profile case.”
A DOJ spokesperson defends the prolonged release time, saying the records were released “as soon as practicable.”
Calling the released records “incomplete,” the WSJ notes that:
“The file released to the Wisconsin State Journal under the state’s open records law did not include reports provided to state investigators by federal authorities involved in the case, according to an accompanying letter by Steven Means, deputy administrator of the agency’s Division of Legal Services. Some documents released also had portions blacked out to protect information provided by confidential informants or connected with a federal grand jury, among other reasons”
