RALEIGH – Governor Roy Cooper and his administration has not been very forthcoming or cooperative when it comes to the myriad scandals the media, voters, and lawmakers are interested in getting to the bottom of. In yet another iteration of ‘uncooperative Cooper’ the governor refused public information requests for travel records; now he’s being sued for them.
WBTV filed the lawsuit seeking travel records of two trips Cooper took to the place he launched his reelection campaign…New York City.
From WBTV:
“WBTV has filed a new lawsuit seeking records related to two trips Governor Roy Cooper took last year for political fundraisers in New York City.
The lawsuit, which names Cooper, NC Secretary of Public Safety Erik Hooks and Colonel Glenn McNeill, commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, was filed Friday in Wake County Superior Court and is the latest step in a months-long investigation by the station to determine how Cooper traveled to New York. […]
In October, when first asked about his trips to New York, Cooper refused to answer the question but pledged to comply with the state’s public records laws.
“One thing I do know is that we’re going to comply with public records law,” Cooper said at the time. “That is for sure.” […]”
Oh really? Not according to this lawsuit. The attorneys for WBTV say the governor’s office has made it clear they do not intend to comply with the records request in accordance with the law. From the suit:
“Plaintiff is informed and believes that the defendants have no intention of voluntarily producing any additional responsive documents to WBTV or providing lawful justification(s) for not producing responsive documents –including without limitation EP-25As – claiming N.C. Gen. STAT. 132-1.7(a) as exemption despite producing the same documents in response to virtually identical requests.”
They’re stonewalling. Beyond Cooper’s tone deafness in hosting a reelection launching fundraiser in a completely different state and incongruous political environment, he could have used taxpayer resources to get him to these fundraisers and doesn’t want anyone to know it.
Read more about Cooper clamming up and the WBTV lawsuit here.
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