October 2009: Third Quarter Impact Update
As we put our third quarter report to bed, some fantastic new news to report:
The Center for Independent Media’s national site, The Washington Independent (TWI), just took the highest U.S. political news site slot on Technorati’s “Top 100” list—widely considered the “definitive list” of the Internet’s most influential news sites and blogs, according to the Washington Post.
By Technorati’s measure of which sites are driving the online discussion—determined by an “authority” number “based on a site’s linking behavior, categorization, and other associated data over a short, finite period of time”—TWI has the most authority in the politics news site category, putting us ahead of Commentary Magazine, TPM LiveWire, Raw Story, Reason, The Hill, WhiteHouse.gov, and CNN, to name a few.
It’s no wonder in a recent broadcast MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow called TWI’s reporting “totally invaluable.”
Congratulations also go to four of our state-based sites, which also made the “Top 100” political news sites: Colorado Independent at #16, Minnesota Independent at #34, the New Mexico Independent at #91, Iowa Independent at #98.
Details on our quarterly traffic can be found in our Key Performance Indicator report, which tracks these statistics.
What’s driving our growth and influence? Reporting like the stories detailed in our quarterly report, below.
Best,
David
Agents of Intolerance
Gun Show Story Spurs Homeland Security Report on Right-Wing Extremist Threat
A controversial and widely discussed Department of Homeland Security report warning of a rise in “right-wing extremism”-related violence was based in part on the work of David Weigel, The Washington Independent’s politics reporter. In April, Weigel traveled to the twice-yearly Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot in Kentucky, the biggest high-power gun show in the country, where he reported on the panic among gun enthusiasts over the recent inauguration of President Obama.
The DHS report, which sent shockwaves through the conservative movement, was issued a week after Weigel’s story ran, citing his work as one of the sources of the agency’s concern. Shortly before the release of the report, a man in Pittsburgh who posted to the white supremacist Web site Stormfront.org shot and killed three police officers. In June, James Von Brunn—whose writings contained anti-Semitic views and doubts about President Obama’s citizenship—killed a security guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
The Washington Independent learned of its impact on the DHS report in August, after Virginia-based Americans for Limited Government obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act from the Department of Homeland Security detailing how it was put together. Among the sources (pdf): The New York Times, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and The Washington Independent story on the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot.
“At Gun Show, Conservatives Panic About Obama” (4/7/09)
“James Von Brunn – Birther, Racist, Alleged Killer” (6/10/09)
“TWI Cited in DHS ‘Rightwing Extremism’ Report” (8/18/09)
Civil Rights
Michigan Messenger Impacts HIV Privacy Laws Probe in Lansing
A series of reports by Todd A. Heywood on a controversial May 22 sex sting operation in a Lansing nature center not only resulted in the Lansing Police Department pledging to stop such undercover operations aimed at the gay community but also prompted Mayor Virgil Bernero to ask Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to investigate whether Lansing City Attorney Brigham Smith violated a state HIV disclosure law when he released the HIV-positive status of a man arrested during a sting.
In the course of Heywood’s investigation into the sting, he discovered that documents released by the city attorney as part of his open-records request disclosed the HIV-positive status of one of the men arrested. Michigan has a stringent, but untested, law prohibiting the release of such information except under extreme circumstances. The arrested man’s HIV-positive status was initially included in the police report, which was released as part of Heywood’s FOIA request. Heywood would later find out that WKAR in East Lansing had done a similar FOIA request on the matter but from the Ingham County prosecutor instead of the city of Lansing. The HIV information had been redacted by the county prosecutor. The city attorney, Brigham Smith, said the lack of redaction was lawful.
But Jay Kaplan of the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said that he could not find any lawful reason for the Lansing city attorney to put the man’s HIV-positive status in the incident report from May 22. The incident report also confirmed that the men arrested were entrapped, lured to a nearby apartment building by the undercover police officers.
Lansing City Council members discussed having Cox investigate the Lansing city attorney to see if the city attorney’s actions violated Michigan’s HIV disclosure law. Ultimately, the council was split on whether to act. But a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health added to the pressure for a formal investigation, telling Heywood that the disclosure of such private medical information warranted such an inquiry by the attorney general. Finally, acting on the pressure brought about by Heywood’s reporting, Bernero sent Cox a formal request to investigate his city attorney’s actions. Heywood’s reporting was followed up by reporting from the Lansing State Journal.
Cox’s office investigated the situation and determined there was no law broken in the matter, which prompted State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, who is running for attorney general in 2010, to slam the ruling. “This is just scary. Attorney general opinions are supposed to give us clarity. This does not do that. This impacts all of our rights. . . .We need to take action to make sure we can’t impinge on those rights,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lansing City Council member Carol Wood demanded that city attorney Smith draft new FOIA rules and practices for the city to prevent future release of private medical information.
“Release of Lansing sex sting police reports raises concerns about disclosure of HIV status” (7/6/09)
“Lansing City Council split on whether to press for AG investigation in HIV release case” (7/21/09)
“MDCH: Mich. attorney general should investigate release of man’s HIV status” (7/21/09)
“Man at center of HIV-status release controversy changes plea in court” (7/23/09)
“Bernero considering request for AG investigation into release of man’s HIV status”(7/22/09)
“Bernero challengers say investigation into HIV disclosure necessary” (7/24/09)
“Bernero formally requests attorney general investigation of HIV disclosure case” (7/31/09)
“Attorney general’s ruling on HIV disclosure case prompts medical privacy worries” (9/9/09)
“Bernero challenger gives Lansing city attorney 2 weeks to have new FOIA rules” (9/3/09)
Economy
TWI Uncovers Tavis Smiley’s Role in Wells Fargo Subprime Marketing Scheme
The Washington Independent’s financial reporter, Mary Kane, created a wave of pressure within African-American media that eventually led to PBS star Tavis Smiley to publicly break with Wells Fargo after his role in the lenders’ subprime marketing scheme was revealed. At the height of subprime boom, Wells Fargo devised a plan to increase its share of what it called the “alternative loan” market by luring African-American borrowers, otherwise wary of big banks, to “wealth building” seminars with the help of trusted black figures such as Smiley. For at least two years, Smiley headlined standing-room-only events that were heavily marketed in black media. In exchange for urging the crowd to take out loans with Wells Fargo, Wells sponsored Smiley’s PBS show and his annual “State of the Black Union” event televised on C-Span. According to a predatory lending lawsuit filed in Illinois by Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Smiley and other African-American figures such as financial author Kelvin Boston were key to Wells Fargo’s success in the subprime market.
After Kane reported on Smiley’s relationship with the lender, African-American media, including The Root and Jack and Jill Politics, turned up the heat on Smiley. Posts across the Web demanded answers. Two days after the piece first appeared, Smiley told Maynard Institute’s Journal-isms columnist Richard Prince that he had decided to “cut ties” with Wells Fargo, even though such a move would “cost him a lot of money.” Smiley said he would not be affiliated with Wells Fargo until charges that the bank targeted minority borrowers for higher-cost loans were resolved.
“Suit Alleges Trusted Blacks Drew Minorities to High-Rate Loans” (9/17/09)
“Tavis Smiley Says He’s Cutting Ties to Wells Fargo” (9/20/09)
TWI Finds “Making Home Affordable” Financing Still Unfair
In another high-impact, subprime mortgage story, which she first reported in January, Mary Kane revealed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were forcing mortgage holders to sign legal waivers before getting their loans modified. When Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) learned of the waivers as a result of Kane’s reporting, he promised to make sure that practice came to an end. Thanks to Frank’s efforts, Obama’s anti-foreclosure centerpiece, the Making Home Affordable program, specifically ensured that such requirements would be banned.
Kane continued monitoring the story and learned this summer that some servicers taking part in the program, which offers cash incentives to participants, were still requiring borrowers to waive their legal rights.
Kane disclosed that some of the biggest players participating in the taxpayer-funded plan —including Ocwen, Bank of America, and Aurora—were still using the waivers. During the course of her reporting, Ocwen looked into the accusations and admitted that it was still using old paperwork in some instances. Ocwen confirmed that the forms would be revoked, consumers affected would be notified, and the waivers would not be enforced.
“Freddie, Fannie Force Borrowers to Waive Legal Rights” (1/15/09)
“Frank Vows to Put an End to Fannie and Freddie Waivers” (1/21/09)
“Loan Servicers Work the Fine Print in Obama Foreclosure Plan” (7/30/09)
Health Care
Iowa Independent Pulls the Plug on Grassley’s “Death Panels”
A combination of quick reporting and fact-checking by The Iowa Independent’s Jason Hancock led major national political figures, including President Obama, to ridicule town hall comments made by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley about so-called health care “death panels.” Hancock’s reporting also led third-party organizations to call on the lawmaker to remove himself from his position as the lead Senate Republican negotiator on health care reform.
Grassley has since stepped back from his comments on proposed health care reform legislation and how it would lead to “death panels” that would evaluate whether the elderly and infirm should be euthanized. Nonetheless, his stature as a level-headed lawmaker interested in a legislative compromise has been significantly diminished.
The story began to unfold on August 12 when Grassley embarked on a series of town hall forums across Iowa that were covered by local press and some national media, including Roll Call. At the first stop in Winterset, Grassley gave voice to the “death panel” meme, which had been gaining traction in conservative circles for weeks. “You have every right to fear,” he said. “You shouldn’t have . . . a government-run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma.” Hancock was the only reporter to report the now infamous quote and also challenge it, noting that the “death panels” had been debunked by numerous credible and non-partisan sources.
Following Hancock’s first story, The Washington Independent’s Mike Lillis blogged about Grassley’s comments, linking to The Iowa Independent. Soon after that, The Huffington Post linked directly to Hancock’s initial report and published a follow-up story later in the afternoon diving into the implications of Grassley’s comments and crediting The Iowa Independent with having first reported the remarks. Other national media outlets picked up on the story and credited The Iowa Independent with breaking it, including CBS News and The Baltimore Sun.
With the continued help of The Washington Independent’s blog, Hancock’s follow-up reporting later that day gained additional traction nationally. Grassley’s quote was not just a gaffe, Hancock reported: The senator repeated the “death panel” meme later that day at other town hall gatherings.
The comment boiled the blood of health care reform advocates nationwide. At the Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democrat who at the time was embroiled in a tough primary campaign, tried to endear himself to the progressive, net-savvy audience and, as The Washington Independent noted, said he would call Grassley to discuss his “death panel” comments to set the record straight. This would later spark a spat between Specter and Grassley on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Washington were wondering whether Grassley still stood as a willing partner to hammer out a health care reform compromise, as detailed by The New York Times: “The White House, carefully following Mr. Grassley’s activities, presumed he was no longer interested in negotiating with Democrats after he initially made no effort to debunk misinformation that the legislation could lead to ‘death panels’ empowered to judge who would receive care.”
On August 15, President Obama, during his own town hall event in Grand Junction, Colorado, cited the “pull the plug on grandma” quote as harmful and distorting to the debate over national health care. “We can have an honest disagreement,” the president said. “What you can’t do—or you can, but you shouldn’t do—is start saying things like we want to set up death panels to pull the plug on grandma.”
In the meantime, progressive health care reform advocates mobilized to apply pressure on Grassley. One group, Progressive Future, started a letter-writing campaign, saying that Grassley was unfit to remain the Senate Republicans’ lead negotiator on health care reform.
“Grassley Repeats ‘Death Panels’ Comments” (8/13/09)
“Grassley: Government shouldn’t ‘decide when to pull the plug on grandma’” (8/12/09)
“Grassley: Government Plan Threatens to ‘Pull the Plug on Grandma’” (8/12/09)
“Specter: ‘I’ll Call Chuck Grassley Today’” (8/14/09)
“Grassley repeats euthanasia claim” (8/12/09)
“Specter Calls Grassley, Doesn’t Get Through” (8/14/09)
“Grassley Launches Twitter War With Specter” (8/14/09)
Minnesota Independent Breaks Bachmann’s Call for “Prayer and Fasting”
The Minnesota Independent’s Paul Demko attended a “teletownhall” sponsored by the anti-abortion group the Susan B. Anthony List at which Rep. Michele Bachmann repeated the “death panels” myth. The congressional representative also attacked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and called on participants to get down on their knees and pray that health care reform fails. “That’s really where this battle will be won—on our knees in prayer and fasting,” she told the listeners. Demko’s coverage was picked up by The Huffington Post, Time, and a host of social networks to bring nearly 50,000 readers to the site. Demko also covered a health care town hall that Bachmann held in Lake Elmo, where Bachmann entreated, “Let’s not destroy the greatest health care system the world has ever known.”
“Bachmann: Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform” (8/24/09)
“Lake Elmo Fire: Bachmann draws overflow crowd for health care scrum” (8/27/09)
Colorado Independent Captures Bachmann’s “Slit Our Wrists” Cry
Three days after the Lake Elmo event covered by The Minnesota Independent, Ernest Luning of The Colorado Independent caught up with Rep. Michele Bachmann in Denver. There, before a gathering sponsored by the Independence Institute, she again railed against the dangers of health care reform. “This cannot pass,” she said. “What we have to do today is make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers on this thing.” Luning’s report, which also ran on The Minnesota Independent and was relayed by The Washington Independent, quickly dominated the news cycle, with sites such as The Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo, and cable news shows picking up on Bachmann’s “slit our wrists” statements. Ed Schultz of MSNBC devoted his entire “Psycho Talk” segment to her remarks. One Minnesota newspaper, the West Central Tribune, editorialized that Bachmann’s comment in Colorado “shows how extreme extremists on the issue have become.”
“Bachmann: ‘Slit our wrists, be blood brothers’ to beat health care reform” (8/31/09)
Iowa’s Reporting Impacts Senate Move to Fund Rural Mental Health Network
The Iowa Independent’s Lynda Waddington reported on a startling increase in suicides among American farmers and pointed out a lack of rural mental health programs, which resulted in lawmakers and their staffs on Capitol Hill looking for news ways to fund a national rural mental health network. Her coverage identified one very simple, low-cost program that seemed to mitigate the impact of the crisis: In states where suicide hotlines geared toward rural patients exist, farmer suicides were less common.
Waddington learned that the 2008 Farm Bill passed by Congress had authorized a Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network to create a national crisis hotline for rural workers. It also mandated additional behavioral health services in rural regions. But funding had not been appropriated by lawmakers in either the U.S. House or Senate. Waddington learned from AgriWellness, an Iowa-based rural mental health care organization, that when the hotline funding was up for discussion, her reporting had been widely distributed to decision makers on Capitol Hill.
Representatives from AgriWellness also told Waddington that her consistent reporting on the issue was instrumental in securing a meeting with top Senate Appropriations Committee staffers to explore ways to fund the national hotline. A key Appropriations aide quoted directly from Waddington’s reporting during meetings on the matter, using it as evidence as to why the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network should be funded. There is now a possibility that the funding could be included when agricultural appropriations go into a House-Senate conference committee. Had it not been for her compelling examination of the situation, the Senate Appropriations staffers would not have revisited the hotline funding after House and Senate lawmakers did not include funding in a recent round of agricultural appropriations.
“Farmer suicides spotlight lack of mental health care in rural America” (7/23/09)
“Congress fails to fund rural crisis hotline in agricultural appropriations” (8/7/09)
“States struggle to meet rural behavior health needs without federal funds” (9/11/09)
“USDA seeks nominations for dairy advisory committee” (8/28/09)
Energy
Mining Professor Finds His Job Threatened for Raising Concerns About “Fracking”
A Colorado School of Mines professor, Geoffrey Thyne, told David O. Williams in July that he was threatened with termination for expressing concerns about hydraulic fracturing, a process used to free up gas trapped in rock formations. Fracking, as it’s called, sends a solution of water, sand and chemicals into wells. It is the subject of pending federal legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado, legislation that the oil and gas industry wants killed. DeGette’s bill has been a major topic of conversation in Garfield County, where energy industry money flooded the 2008 county commission race to defeat Democratic candidates who weren’t as friendly to drilling interests. Opponents of fracking say the process can contaminate local water sources, something Thyne has investigated.
Environment
Iowa Independent’s Dogged Coverage Results in Action on Coal Ash Dumps
Jason Hancock’s ongoing coverage of Iowa’s lax regulations on the disposal of coal ash resulted in state regulators and student leaders taking direct action.
In July, in response to questions Hancock raised in his reporting, the chairman of the state’s Environmental Protection Commission called on the state legislature to reassess Iowa’s coal ash disposal rules. State Sen. Dennis Black (D-Grinnell), who chairs the Environment and Energy Independence Committee, said changes would be considered during next year’s legislative session.
After Hancock reported that Iowa’s three state universities were dumping their coal ash in an unlined, unmonitored disposal site in Waterloo, university administrators and students took notice of the problem. Prompted by questions from The Iowa Independent, university officials met with the owners of the Waterloo disposal site in August to find out whether the facility posed a threat to public health.
At first they concluded that the site was safe, and no changes were needed. That decision drew criticism from Plains Justice, an environmental group that has followed The Iowa Independent’s coverage of coal ash disposal closely. The decision also galvanized student groups, which pledged to take action to pressure the institutions to change their practices. Iowa State University students held a protest at the beginning of the school year to demand a meeting with the university president to discuss coal ash disposal procedures, and their efforts continued until they got their way. Finally, after The Iowa Independent reported on the protests, Iowa State University’s president agreed to meet with the student protesters in October.
In light of this mounting pressure, the universities did an about-face and announced they would begin groundwater testing at the coal ash disposal site they jointly use.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with The Iowa Independent, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver acknowledged that regulations regarding coal ash disposal need to be strengthened, and he pledged to bring it up with U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in an upcoming meeting with her.
“EPC chair calls on legislature to look into coal ash rules” (7/7/09)
“Iowa universities will not alter coal ash disposal practices” (8/6/09)
“Students vow to press Iowa universities on coal ash disposal” (8/18/09)
“Students demand meeting with ISU president about coal ash disposal” (8/24/09)
“Students to meet with ISU president about coal ash” (9/21/09)
“Culver: Safe disposal of toxic coal ash must be addressed” (9/17/09)
“Public universities to monitor groundwater at coal ash dump site” (9/25/09)
Transparency in Government
TWI’s Insider Trading Coverage Leads to Congressional Hearing
The Washington Independent’s congressional reporter Mike Lillis used the financial disclosure statements of top U. S. Senators to reveal that 10 had dumped their personal financial stock the day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson informed them privately last fall about the true state of the economy.
In his July 6 story, Lillis linked his discovery to a bill that has been floundering since 2006; it aims to close the loophole that allows members of Congress to use inside information for personal gain (or pass it on to family members).
The day after Lillis’ story ran, the office of the bill’s author, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) contacted him, saying that Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kans.), who heads the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, had announced he would hold a hearing on the issue on July 13.
Before the hearing was announced, CIM’s metrics indicate that Lillis’ story was closely read by at least 12 people in House offices. House readers spent longer (an average of 4:13) reading the piece than nearly any other story viewed on the network.
“Bill Threatens Congress’ Shield From Insider Trading Laws” (7/6/09)
“More Scrutiny Coming on Government Insider Trading” (7/7/09)
The New Mexico Independent Uncovers Truth, Lies, and Database Bungling
In June, The New Mexico Independent’s Heath Haussamen and Trip Jennings discovered that all of the public information systems of the secretary of state (SoS) had broken down. The breakdown made doing business with the state—from accessing campaign and lobbyist information to registering trademarks and farm loans—impossible for citizens and lawmakers. But officials did not disclose the malfunction and, when exposed, misrepresented its causes. As a result, legislators held two meetings in which they discussed the secretary of state’s practices and deemed the office not competent enough to be entrusted with the state’s crucial online database project.
The crash reported by Haussamen and Jennings was only the latest chapter in the efforts of the SoS—which has consumed several years and hundreds of thousands of dollars—to give the public a searchable database of reports filed by political candidates, elected officials, lobbyists, and other public entities.
Hoping to defuse the story of the crash, the SoS posted a message online claiming that the office’s computer systems and Web site were down due to “upgrades,” a falsehood that Haussamen quickly caught and reported. The story led key lawmakers, including State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, to begin questioning the secretary of state’s fitness in The New Mexico Independent and other statewide news outlets. “You can’t be nice, you can’t be polite about this anymore,” Jones said to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
The furor caused Secretary of State Mary Herrera to acknowledge the problem finally, telling Haussamen that the systems were down but would soon be operational and that the long-awaited database was still in development.
Then the system crashed again, and again the failure was not disclosed. State Rep. Brian Egolf, beyond frustration, said he and other lawmakers would call on Herrera’s staff to account for the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been allocated to her office for the project. “I want to know what it was spent on. We’re going to be looking at that,” he said.
As a result of NMI’s coverage, state lawmakers at two hearings in July asked SoS staffers to explain their bungling of the project. Ultimately, the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) deemed that the office was incapable of managing the public database and recommended that it and other SoS projects no longer be handled in-house. Lawmakers went on to conclude that officials had no disaster plan in place for public data and could not even communicate effectively with each other.
“N.M. Secretary of State’s computer systems knocked out” (6/26/09)
“N.M. secretary of state’s Web site now says it’s ‘down for upgrades’” (6/29/09)
“N.M. SOS Mary Herrera: All systems should be online Thursday” (7/2/09)
“Parts of N.M. secretary of state’s Web site down again” (7/9/09)
“Legislative review: N.M. Secretary of State’s Office lacks technical ability to manage IT projects” (7/21/09)
Public Funding of Minnesota Teen Challenge Raises Constitutional Questions
The Minnesota Independent’s Andy Birkey broke big news when his investigation into the funding of an evangelical treatment program in Minneapolis revealed that it had received $2.4 million from the state since 2007. Minnesota Teen Challenge acknowledged the religious nature of its chemical-dependency treatment programs but said state money is kept separate from its evangelical program. Testimony from program graduates, however, suggests that evangelism—and perhaps even conversion—are key to the group’s mission. First Amendment groups told Birkey that Teen Challenge’s activity appears to run afoul of the constitutional principle of church-state separation.
“Evangelical treatment program gets $2.4 million from state” (9/22/09)
TCI Takes the Ethics Commission to Court on Transparency Issues—and Wins
The Colorado Independent (TCI) scored a series of legal victories this summer in the fight to make the state’s Independent Ethics Commission more transparent. Earlier in the year,TCI’s Ernest Luning reported that the IEC conducted 85 percent of its business behind closed doors, which raised serious questions about the commission’s transparency and compliance with Colorado’s strict Open Meetings Act. The Colorado Independent sued the commission in the spring to force the release of a series of audio recordings of the closed-door meetings where major decisions were made, including the case of an ethics complaint against U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman when he served as Colorado secretary of state. IEC members had dismissed the Coffman complaint.
In late August, a Denver District Court judge ruled that the commission violated the state’s Open Meetings Law when it improperly convened a dozen closed-door meetings. Because the ethics panel didn’t follow the law, the court ordered the state’s top ethics panel to immediately release all records of any improperly closed meeting, even those the commission claims are protected by attorney-client privilege. In late July, the IEC agreed to release unedited audio recordings of two of the secret meetings to The Colorado Independent and planned to turn over redacted recordings of five additional closed-door meetings conducted earlier in the year.
In the late spring, six weeks after the lawsuit was filed, the IEC changed a variety of its practices to be more transparent, including the posting of public notices listing specific lawsuits filed against the commission which commissioners plan to discuss with their attorneys behind closed doors; public discussions of ethical questions under consideration by the panel; and recorded votes of commissioners when the IEC goes into executive session, as required by state law.
While the merits of lawsuit have been settled, questions of the state covering The Colorado Independent’s legal expenses still have to be resolved.
“State’s top ethics panel moves toward more open, transparent procedures” (6/19/09)
“Ethics panel agrees to release recordings of secret meetings” (8/3/09)
“Judge: Colorado’s top ethics panel broke open meetings law” (9/2/09)
Michigan Messenger’s Investigation of Secret Trade Pact Triggers State Lawmakers‘ Campaign
Dozens of state lawmakers, attorneys general, and other officials around the country acted en masse after The Michigan Messenger’s Ed Brayton revealed that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) under the Bush administration struck a secret deal with the European Union that could allow foreign ownership of liquefied natural gas terminals and other dangerous chemical and energy facilities in the United States, a move that would trump any local or state laws regulating such facilities.
Seeking details of the trade agreement, Brayton filed a Freedom of Information Act request in 2008 with the USTR. The request was denied by the Bush administration on the grounds that it might compromise national security pursuant to Executive Order 12958.
Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch took up the matter of Brayton’s inquiry, alleging that the Bush administration was “illegally withholding the details of its offer accepted by the European Union to bind more sectors of the U.S. economy to World Trade Organization jurisdiction.” Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on Michigan Messenger’s behalf to force the White House to release the details.
As a federal judge was considering the case, USTR declassified the document the week before the November 2008 elections. Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, assisted Brayton in analyzing the released information, which resulted in Brayton’s article. His reporting revealed that the deal could not only permit foreign ownership of energy plants, but it might also allow federal, state, and local regulations affecting those facilities to be challenged as barriers to international trade.
“It was important to get this document because it shows that the Bush administration was using the [World Trade Organization] process to sell out U.S. public safety and give foreign firms new rights and privileges here even as state authorities were trying to regulate these dangerous … facilities,” Wallach said.
Global Trade Watch used Brayton’s report and the information revealed through his FOIA request to organize local officials to press the White House and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative through a letter-writing campaign. The campaign began in the spring and continued through the summer. The lawmakers who took action include California State Sens. Joseph Simitian, Loni Hancock, Alan Lowenthal;California Assembly members Pedro Nava and Nancy Skinner;Massachusetts Rep. David Sullivan and Attorney General Martha Coakley;Oregon Sen. Diane Rosenbaum and Reps. Peter Buckley and Carolyn Tomei, and Reps. Marilyn Chase, Steve Conway and Geoff Simpson of Washington State.
The California lawmakers, in their letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, said that the pact revealed by the reporting “has generated a great deal of government concern, public protest and press in coastal states because of serious concerns regarding potential damage to air and water quality, seismic safety issues [and] the catastrophic explosive hazards posed by … facilities or tankers located near population centers presenting a target for terrorism.”
The information released by Brayton’s information request, as Global Trade Watch has noted, could cause congressional lawmakers and the Obama White House to reconsider the secret deal.
“Secret trade pact between U.S., Europe could void local laws on chemical, gas storage” (4/2/09)