Judge tosses lawsuit over Iowa auditor emails related to liberal blogger and AP journalist

A Polk County judge has dismissed a conservative public interest law firm's lawsuit seeking emails between the state auditor's office and a liberal blogger and an Associated Press journalist.

After reviewing the emails that Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand's office withheld from the firm, the Kirkwood Institute, Iowa District Court Judge Robert Hansen concluded Tuesday that all the withheld materials were exempt from disclosure.

Hansen found that 11 email chains had been properly withheld because they were part of an "audit or examination." He found one was withheld under an exemption that exempts the identities of people making tips to government officials, as well as certain kinds of information that would "seriously jeopardize a continuing investigation or pose a clear and present danger to the safety of any person."

Sand applauded the ruling.

“We are committed to transparency, but also to protecting whistleblowers who help us uncover waste, fraud, and corruption,” he said in a written statement.

"We must deny requests that would chip away at our ability to protect whistleblowers and save taxpayers money. Iowans can trust the State Auditor’s Office," he said.

Kirkwood President Alan Ostergren, Muscatine County's former county attorney, was not immediately available for comment.

Earlier coverage: Iowa auditor sued for refusing to release emails about rejected accusation against Gov. Kim Reynolds

Kirkwood filed the suit in October 2021 in response to a report from Sand's office earlier that year concluding that Gov. Kim Reynolds had violated state ethics laws by appearing in state-funded ads promoting COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board later rejected the finding, saying the state's law against using public money for self-promotion does not apply during a declared disaster emergency.

Kirkwood requested to, from or mentioning Bleeding Heartland blogger Laura Belin and those to, from or mentioning Associated Press reporter Ryan Foley.

Earlier coverage: Gov. Kim Reynolds didn't violate Iowa's self-promotion law with COVID mask ads, board finds

The firm's original complaint cited communications Sand's office withheld between Sand Chief of Staff John McCormally and Belin, but which Belin later published on Bleeding Heartland.

The suit argued that there "is no set of circumstances where an auditor employee’s communication doing damage control over a legally flawed report can be withheld."

In court papers, Sand's office contended that the material quoted was from personal emails between Belin and McCormally.

According to the ruling, that email was part of material later provided to Kirkwood, so was not part of Hansen's review.

Sand said the ruling showed his office’s decision to fight the suit was not political.

“We’ve had everyone from right-wing media outlets to the Democratic National Committee ask for records that could possibly identify tipsters. Our answer is the same every time,” he said.

Daniel Lathrop is a staff writer on the Register's investigative team. Reach him at (319) 244-8873 or dlathrop@dmreg.com. Follow him at @lathropd on Twitter and at facebook.com/IowaGadfly.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Conservative law firm won't get emails withheld by Iowa auditor