Destruction of public records should be an impeachable offense

by J Scott Christianson, Columbia Daily Tribune Columnist

As Yogi Berra would say, “It’s deja vu all over again.” Only four months after we learned Bush administration officials deleted thousands of e-mails from their servers between 2003 and 2005 in direct violation of the Presidential Records Act, we learn that a similar practice of destroying e-mails is occurring in Gov. Matt Blunt’s office in violation of Missouri’s Open Meetings and Records Law.

This destruction of public records by the governor’s staff is disturbing and wrong for several reasons.

First, it destroys the ability of the public to understand how decisions are made in the governor’s office. The Sunshine Law is Missouri’s equivalent of the Freedom of Information Act, and it allows regular citizens reasonable access to government records so that they can investigate and learn about the inner workings of their government. Not all e-mail correspondence would necessarily be available to the public under the Sunshine Law, but now there is no possibility for e-mail communications to be made available.

Second, this practice might be destroying evidence that could be used in civil or criminal court cases. If someone in the governor’s office misused his or her position in government to benefit or injure a fellow Missourian, e-mail correspondence might be critical in prosecuting a case or proving innocence.