Thursday, November 08, 2007

Messenger: It's time for the governor to tell the truth

The war of words between Springfield News-Leader Editorial Page Editor Tony Messenger and Governor Matt Blunt's administration continues today with Messenger challenging the governor to tell the truth about the firing of former state attorney Scott Eckersley.

Messenger notes not only has the Blunt administration continued to give one different story after another concerning the issue that started the whole controversy- the state's policy on retention of e-mail messages- but it has launched an almost unprecedented character assassination of a former employee, and may have even illegally broken into Eckersley's private e-mail account:

(Blunt attorney Henry) Herschel and the rest of the governor's office might not like the facts. They might not like the fact that their public statements and actions concerning the Sunshine Law have been full of contradictions. And they clearly don't recognize how tacky and plain distasteful their character assassination of a former employee is to Missourians, no matter their political affiliation.

But they cannot, no matter how many evasive letters they write, simply wave a magic wand and expect this scandal to disappear.

Only the governor can make this go away. He can waive attorney-client privilege and allow Eckersley to fully disclose his opinions and whatever documents he might have. He can order his staff to open up the e-mail files not just to the documents they choose to cherry-pick, but to every sheet of paper concerning this entire affair. He can make his chief of staff, Ed Martin, available to the press so he might answer questions about his role in Eckersley's firing.

The bottom line is this: I'm seeking the truth, governor. Are you?

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