Mike Pence Goes To Court To Keep Emails Secret

Vice-President-Elect Mike Pence is embroiled in a government transparency case related to emails he sent to a political ally while serving as Governor of Indiana. Indianapolis attorney William Groth has been seeking access to Pence’s email as part of a campaign to expose waste in the Republican administration in the state. He has appealed a Marion Superior Court ruling that said redactions made by the administration could not be second-guessed by the court. Specifically, Groth seeks access to a white paper that was excluded from his public records request. Pence’s legal team says the white paper is an attorney work product protected by Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act. Groth argues that the lower court misapplied the law. “I think governmental transparency is an important concern of anyone who lives in a democracy – the governor cannot put himself above the law,” Groth told the IndyStar. In 2014, Pence hired an outside law firm to represent Indiana in a lawsuit filed by Texas and several other states including Indiana, hoping to block President Obama’s executive orders changing immigration policy. Groth requested information on the decision to hire outside counsel, and the cost to taxpayers.