What Is Howard Dean Hiding?

NewsMax.com ^ | 11/30/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

NEW YORK – PRNewswire – As investigative reporters and "oppo" researchers flock to Vermont to dig into Howard Dean's past, they have run into a roadblock.

A large chunk of Dean's records as governor are locked in a remote state warehouse, the result of an aggressive legal strategy designed in part to protect Dean from political attacks.

Dean, who has blasted the Bush administration for excessive secrecy, candidly acknowledged that politics was a major reason for locking up his own files when he left office last January.

He told Vermont Public Radio he was putting a 10-year seal on many of his official papers – four years longer than previous Vermont governors – because of "future political considerations. ... We didn't want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time."

"Most of the records are open," said Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright, adding that there is "absolutely not" a "smoking gun" in those for which Dean has claimed "executive privilege."

Still, Dean's efforts to keep official papers secret appear unusually extensive. Late last year, Newsweek has learned, Dean's chief counsel sent a directive to all state agencies ordering them to cull their files and remove all correspondence that bore Dean's name – and ship them to the governor's office to be reviewed for "privilege" claims.

This removed a "significant number of records" from state files, said Michael McShane, an assistant Vermont attorney general.

The battle over Dean's records began last year when three Vermont newspapers took him to court after being denied access to his official schedule.

Reporters were trying to track Dean's out-of-state political trips. State lawyers argued that release of the schedule could jeopardize his safety and that the governor's office was not a public "agency" covered by state open-records law – two notions rejected by the Vermont Supreme Court. (The court ultimately ruled that those portions of the schedule related to his political trips had to be released, but those relating to state policy could be redacted.)

Then last January, Dean's chief counsel, David Rocchio, negotiated a sweeping agreement that resulted in about 140 boxes of Dean records containing several hundred thousand pages of documents being locked up for 10 years at a state archive in Middlesex, said Greg Sanford, the state archivist.

The sealed papers include Dean's correspondence with advisers on, among other matters, Vermont's "civil unions" law and a state agency that critics charged was used to grant tax credits to Dean's favored firms.

Rocchio said the sealing agreement was driven by "legitimate" policy concerns, but also by, he later acknowledged, political factors. "All you have to do is look at what [Dean's opponents] are doing with the existing records," he said. "They're distorting his record."

[kattracks]

Another target for hillary! and her minions?

[ETERNAL WARMING]

A large chunk of Dean's records as governor are locked in a remote state warehouse, the result of an aggressive legal strategy designed in part to protect Dean from political attacks.

I don't understand how they can legally do that...wouldn't the records be public domain?

[JLS]

It is really odd that they can get away with locking up anything that say the press wanted to access?

And what in the world could he be hiding? The guncontrol and medicare stuff that dems like to beat up GOP guys with is already out there. He is every day left enough for the Bush campaign to paint him as the Boston Democrat he will be painted as.

[patj]

Sounds like the Clintons all over again.

[Tax Government]

It takes a lawsuit.

[ChadGore]

What did Dean know, and when did he know it ?

[wai-ming]

Another target for hillary! and her minions?

Speaking of Hillary--Hasn't she got secrets from her own past hidden away somewhere? Like her thesis from Wellesley?

[Smocker]

When they get power: LIBERALS = Fascists

[NeonKnight]

Who needs a lawsuite? The electorate should simply say, come clean or I vote for someone else. It should be as simple as that. Why would anyone ever vote for a candidate who is known to be hiding something?

Oh, I forgot, we are talking about Dems.

[KC Burke]

I read somewhere that he keeps a tight rein on information about a period of his medical residency spent a Planned Parenthood clinic. If this is true, are we about to see nominated our first true abortionist?

[MinuteGal]

The media snoops are always filing law suits against politicians on behalf on freedom of information. Where are they now?

Oops, I forget.....Dean is a DemoRat.

Leni

[Elsie]

...pages of documents being locked up for 10 years at a state archive in Middlesex, said Greg Sanford, the state archivist. ...

HMmmmm.....

A Metrosexual's records are stored in MIDDLESEX???

HMmmmm.....

[2nd amendment mama]

We didn't want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time."

This is the line that got to me.....what's in there that's so embarrassing????? If this were a Republican the press would be going crazy demanding access!

[ReleaseTheHounds]

I can see Bubba seeing this report and going "DOH! Why didn't I think of that... but then again, I would have had to seal 20 years of records, including how many Bimbos..."

[ctonious]

When they get power: LIBERALS = Fascists

Quote of the Day. Should be a tagline on every Freeper placard.

[grania]

A large chunk of Dean's records as governor are locked in a remote state warehouse, the result of an aggressive legal strategy designed in part to protect Dean from political attacks.

I don't understand how they can legally do that...wouldn't the records be public domain?

The goings-on in Vermont are so important to the survival of the free world that Howard Dean, our savior, is protecting us from the consequences of the earth shattering information being protected from exposure.

Or maybe the guy is just a Clinton-style sleaze who has to hide his record from his adoring but clueless followers.

<^..^>

[Politico2]

Politics: What’s in Howard Dean’s Secret Vermont Files?
By Michael Isikoff
NEWSWEEK

Dec. 8 issue — As investigative reporters and “oppo” researchers flock to Vermont to dig into Howard Dean’s past, they have run into a roadblock. A large chunk of Dean’s records as governor are locked in a remote state warehouse—the result of an aggressive legal strategy designed in part to protect Dean from political attacks.

DEAN—WHO HAS BLASTED the Bush administration for excessive secrecy—candidly acknowledged that politics was a major reason for locking up his own files when he left office last January. He told Vermont Public Radio he was putting a 10-year seal on many of his official papers—four years longer than previous Vermont governors—because of “future political considerations... We didn’t want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time.” “Most of the records are open,” said Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright, adding there is “absolutely not” a “smoking gun” in those for which Dean has claimed “executive privilege.” Still, Dean’s efforts to keep official papers secret appear unusually extensive. Late last year, NEWSWEEK has learned, Dean’s chief counsel sent a directive to all state agencies ordering them to cull their files and remove all correspondence that bore Dean’s name—and ship them to the governor’s office to be reviewed for “privilege” claims. This removed a “significant number of records” from state files, said Michael McShane, an assistant Vermont attorney general.

The battle over Dean’s records began last year when three Vermont newspapers took him to court after being denied access to his official schedule. Reporters were trying to track Dean’s out-of-state political trips. State lawyers argued that release of the schedule could jeopardize his safety and that the governor’s office was not a public “agency” covered by state open-records law—two notions rejected by the Vermont Supreme Court. (The court ultimately ruled that those portions of the schedule related to his political trips had to be released, but those relating to state policy could be redacted.) Then last January, Dean’s chief counsel David Rocchio negotiated a sweeping agreement that resulted in about 140 boxes of Dean records containing several hundred thousand pages of documents being locked up for 10 years at a state archive in Middlesex, said Greg Sanford, the state archivist. The sealed papers include Dean’s correspondence with advisers on, among other matters, Vermont’s “civil unions” law and a state agency that critics charged was used to grant tax credits to Dean’s favored firms. Rocchio said the sealing agreement was driven by “legitimate” policy concerns, but also by, he later acknowledged, political factors. “All you have to do is look at what [Dean’s opponents] are doing with the existing records,” he said. “They’re distorting his record.”

[finnman69]

Into the memory hole the records go...