Feds attempt to keep Iowa records secret would violate constitutional rights, county attorney argues

Iowans' First Amendment rights will be violated if federal officials successfully prohibit Story County from releasing public records, a county attorney argued before a federal judge.

The argument comes as part of Story County’s efforts to release e-mails sent by Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald, who has alleged that a $7 billion federal emergency communications effort has had procurement, conflict of interest and open meeting rules or guideline improprieties.

Federal officials have staged a legal battle to keep messages sent from Fitzgerald’s county email account secret from groups that include the Des Moines Register, saying Fitzgerald’s role as a board member on the First Responder Network Authority was in a federal capacity.

Because the information deals with security issues, the information is exempt from public disclosure laws, federal officials have said. With some exceptions, most emails sent on government accounts are by Iowa law considered open to the public, which Story County officials say they must follow.

[March 10]