Atty Gen: Dann (D) Seeks In Camera Review of "Privileged" Documents

Attorney general candidate State Sen. Marc Dann (D-Youngstown) continues to hammer away at the Republicans' defenses in their ongoing effort to minimize and cover up the Tom Noe/Coingate scandal. Reacting to the Republican-dominated Supreme Court's dubious executive privilege ruling, which allows Governor Taft (R) to refuse access to certain government records relating to investments by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation despite the lack of any Constitutional or statutory provision directly authorizing such action, Dann is calling on the Justices to conduct an in camera (literally, in chambers) review of the records in dispute. This procedure, frequently employed when litigants seek to invoke attorney-client privilege, requires the court to inspect the records privately and determine whether they are indeed privileged, and whether there is a compelling need for disclosure that overcomes the privilege.

All five Republican Justices who joined in the executive privilege decision received campaign money from Tom Noe. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice Judith Lanzinger, and Justice Terrence O'Donnell (up for reelection this year) have put into escrow some of that money, which had been laundered through Taft's former aide Douglas Talbot.

Even if Dann's strategy is not successful in gaining access to the disputed records, it is an excellent remedy to pursue because it continues to put the ugly problem of public corruption and cover-ups in public view where it belongs. Visit Dann's campaign blog and leave a comment expressing your encouragement and support! Better yet, contribute to his campaign.