According to the letter, “Speaker Pelosi has chosen to politicize the CIA and to demoralize its employees in order to take one more parting shot at the Bush administration, and to try to distract the public from her potentially career-ending exercise of bad judgment. By politicizing the intelligence community, Speaker Pelosi is reviving one of Washington’s most tired and ugly old ways.”

The controversy began when Pelosi said on April 23rd in reference to a 2002 intelligence briefing that “At that or any other briefing… we were not, I repeat, were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation techniques were used.”

On May 6th, the controversy grew as an intelligence report was released on stating that Pelosi was indeed briefed on the techniques that were used on terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah in September 2002, as reported by ABC News.

On May 14th, it only grew as she accused the CIA of lying to her: “Those briefing me in Sept. 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information… The CIA was misleading the Congress.”

The CIA Director, Leon Panetta—appointed by Democrat Barack Obama—defended his agency, saying, “It is not our policy to mislead Congress. That is against our laws and our values.”

Wilson, Meese, and other national leaders in their letter wrote that “The national security of the United States is more important than politics.”

Wilson explained, “If it comes down to Pelosi keeping a powerful political position or protecting the security of the nation, security comes first, and Pelosi has to go.”

“Pelosi, number two in line to succeed the Presidency, has completely destroyed her credibility with the intelligence community, and on intelligence-issues central to protecting the security of the United States,” Wilson declared.

“And anyone who cannot be trusted to protect the security of the nation has no place in a leadership position in any branch or office of our representative government,” Wilson concluded.

Editor’s Note: The letter’s signatories are:

Edwin Meese, former Attorney General
David Keene, Chairmain, American Conservative Union
Frank J. Gaffney, President, Center for Security Policy
Wendy Wright, President, Concerned Women for America
Alfred Regnery, Publisher, American Spectator
Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
Brent Bozell, President, Media Research Center
Richard Viguerie, Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com
Becky Norton Dunlop, President, Council for National Policy
William Wilson, President, Americans for Limited Government
Ken Blackwell, former U.S. Ambassador, U.N. Human Rights Commission

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

“The Obama Administration and California looked eye to eye over the meaning of the Tenth Amendment and Obama blinked.  The states have the right—the duty—to act in their own interests,” said Wilson.

California’s receipt of some $6.8 billion in federal stimulus, supplemental Medicaid money had been conditioned upon the cut, which reduces the state’s maximum contribution to home health workers’ pay from $12.10 per hour to $10.10 in July.  According to the LA Times, an Obama Administration official had claimed the letter was sent out “inadvertently.”

Wilson said he is convinced that the dissemination of the letter was calculated, as was allowing the SEIU to participate on the April 15^th conference call between California and Obama Administration officials.

“There’s no question as to what happened here.” Wilson accused the Obama Administration of attempting to “intimidate California into capitulating to a ruthless leftwing union.”

Last week, ALG News and other media had called for Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to uphold the principle of federalism, and to rescind the ultimatum.

“If the Federal government tries to bully their way, demanding the states act in ways contrary to their own best interests, the states can and should tell the federal government to back off,” Wilson said.  “California did, and it proved the point.  Good for them.”

According to Wilson, the practice of federalism was greatly endangered by the Obama Administration’s initial stand.  “This was an important win for the people of the U.S. because the concept of federalism was upheld and a pay-to-play scandal was stopped dead on its tracks.”

Wilson had previously in a letter urged Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to rescind a controversial ruling by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandating that California rescind the pay cuts.

The letter had stated, “As a private, third party,” Wilson wrote, “SEIU participated in a conference call [on April 15th] between the Center of Medicare and Medicaid and the State of California where the Center threatened to withhold emergency stimulus funds from California unless the demands of the union were met.”

While Wilson is satisfied with the outcome, he believes that states need to remain wary of the Obama Administration.  “It is perfectly clear now that the Administration will back down from pushing the states around when brought to task, and states need to continue asserting their interests against federal encroachment,” Wilson warned.

#   #  #

“The House under Nancy Pelosi’s leadership clearly believes that it will suffer politically not if it fails to root out corruption, but if it fails to adequately cover it up,” said Wilson.  “Congress has brought disgrace upon itself and shame upon the people it is supposed to represent.”

According to the Representative Jeff Flake’s resolution, the PMA Group, headed by Paul Magliocchetti, “has given $3.4 million in political donations to no less than 284 Members of Congress.” Additionally, defense appropriations committee lawmakers and staff were routinely showered with food, drink, and gifts.  Lawmakers and staff were annually invited to a posh Alpine Christmas affair.  They were often treated to expensive restaurant outings.

According to the New York times, PMA Group clients gathered billions in earmarks over the years.  Wilson believes that each and every earmark ever lobbied for by the PMA Groups must now be scrutinized.  “No stone should be left unturned,” Wilson said.

In an email preceding the vote, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn warned House Democrats in an email that “If the Flake resolution is referred to the Ethics Committee, members can expect attack ads to be run against them alleging members to be ‘under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.’”

Wilson promised to remind the American people often of its “outright betrayal of ethical and representative government in favor politics as usual in Washington.”

The Flake Resolution failed when it was tabled by a 215-182 vote in Roll Call 243.

“The House needs to drop the pretense.  If Murtha is innocent, then the committee will show it.  But, if the mountain of evidence—that which is already on the public record—proves otherwise, then action needs to be taken,” Wilson declared.

“Anyone who voted to table this resolution voted to conceal a strong appearance of corruption, and one has to wonder: do 215 members who voted to kill the investigation have something herself to hide? Would an investigation into this pay to play morass, earmarks and sole source contracts reveal their names?” Wilson added.

In a recent editorial, the New York Times calls for a full-blown investigation.  “Mr. Murtha and two subcommittee colleagues, Peter Visclosky of Indiana and James Moran of Virginia, received more than $4 million in campaign contributions from contract hungry PMA Group clients, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In two recent budgets alone, the three earmarked $137 million for PMA Group clients. It is time to follow the money — all of it.”

“By voting to sweep the Murtha scandal under the rug, the House has committed a grave disservice to constituents and taxpayers.  Congress needs to decide which comes first: party politics or personal integrity,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

According to Wilson, the Center action came in direct response to collusion with officials at the Service Employees International Union.

“It is clear beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Obama Administration is engaging in thuggish aggression of the worst order at the behest of union bosses and at the expense of representative government,” said Wilson in a statement.

On May 11th, the LA Times reported that Sebelius is considering an appeal from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to overturn an April 30th ruling from the Center of Medicare and Medicaid mandating that some $74 million in cuts to home health care workers pay by California scheduled for July 1st be rescinded.

California’s receipt of some $6.8 billion in federal stimulus, supplemental Medicaid money has now been conditioned upon the cut, which reduces the state’s maximum contribution to home health workers’ pay from $12.10 per hour to $10.10.

According to Wilson’s letter to Sebelius, “The State of California, through its elected Legislature with agreement from the Governor, decided on a series of actions to reduce government expenditures. This reduction is critically important. The State is in deep debt, has already increased taxes to the point of diminishing returns, and is facing further erosion in its business base.”

California currently faces a $21.3 billion budget shortfall should a statewide ballot initiative fail on May 19th.

“As a private, third party,” Wilson wrote, “SEIU participated in a conference call [on April 15th] between the Center of Medicare and Medicaid and the State of California where the Center threatened to withhold emergency stimulus funds from California unless the demands of the union were met.”

The letter continues, “Madam Secretary, for an agency under your control to threaten a State government as a service to a private organization—and the SEIU is a private organization—smacks of favoritism to a degree not seen in Washington since the days of the Teapot Dome scandal.”

“The act by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services vindicates Governors Mark Sanford, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, and anyone else that refused federal ‘stimulus’ money,” Wilson added.

Several governors across the country have opted not to take the federal “stimulus” funds for their states. At the time, they said it was because federal funds come with strings attached.

Wilson says he believes that the threats against California are only the beginning. “A definite pattern is emerging. First, the Obama Administration gave a union that only held 10 percent of Chrysler’s bonds a 55 percent stake in the company in bankruptcy using threats, and now, a state is being threatened with its Medicaid funding to keep the pay of union workers at current levels.”

Wilson contends that the threats by the federal government against California endanger all states. “If the federal government gets away with this, the precedent will be that unions can simply get what they want out of the states with federal agencies doing their bidding,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

“Without pause, the House breathlessly continues to fund a criminal enterprise,” said Wilson.  “Only in Washington does an organization get funded on Thursday that was indicted for 39 felony counts on Monday.”

Spurred on by Nevada charges against ACORN, Wilson on Tuesday called upon House Minority Leader John Boehner to immediately convene hearings investigating the organization for “continuing a nationwide effort to corrupt federal, state, and local elections.”

Wilson also called for an immediate freeze in the disbursement of federal funds to ACORN.

“There is no excuse this outrage.  The only explanation for voting to give money to this racket is that House Democrats are deep in the pocket of ACORN,” said Wilson.

The vote making the ACORN Housing Corporation (AHC) eligible for funding was 245-176.

Wilson also cited ACORN Housing Corporation’s troubled history in giving out cheap mortgages as playing a role in weakening credit standards.  “The ACORN Housing Corporation has been one of the principal backers of the irresponsible loose-lending policies including the Community Reinvestment Act, and has a history of strong-arming banks into handing out high-risk loans to low-income recipients.”

“To make matters worse, ACORN gave out loans without using credit scores as well as100-percent financed loans, and even accepted undocumented income,” Wilson added.

ACORN was made eligible for more than $3 billion under the $787 billion “stimulus” spending bill, and $5.5 billion from the 2010 budget.  Since 1994, ACORN has received at least $53 million from American taxpayers, according to the Washington Examiner.

ACORN is also currently eligible for over $500 million of an “affordable housing fund” created under the $300 billion Foreclosure Prevention Act passed this past summer, and according to the Consumer Rights League receives some 40 percent of its funding from taxpayers annually.

Congress’ vote to fund ACORN came only days after Nevada State Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto brought criminal charges against the organization and two former employees for voter registration fraud.  The state says that the organization published a handbook and constructed policies setting up a quota system to register voters.

“By structuring employment and compensation around a quota system, ACORN facilitated voter registration fraud,” Masto said.  “In Nevada, it is unlawful for a person to provide compensation for registering voters that is based on the total number of voters a person registers.”

ACORN has been under investigation for voter fraud in several swing states, including Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Missouri, and has a long history of such fraud in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico.  Americans for Limited government last year released the following executive summary of its activities.

“The most recent charges in Nevada are not just an isolated incident,” Wilson said.  “These efforts have been concerted and coordinated for years to steal elections, boost urban representation, and weaken the nation’s political institutions.”

Wilson noted that the Census Bureau is enlisting the aid of ACORN in counting the 2010 census.  “Taken together, it is obvious that the registration efforts, the census participation, and the Congressional funding are all connected,” said Wilson.  He said it was “like a pay-to-play scandal, but this is even worse.”

“This is actually an elaborate, coordinated national effort to finance a criminal enterprise devoted to conjuring and developing fraudulent constituencies at taxpayer expense,” Wilson explained.  “And it must come to an end.”

“The House had an opportunity to hold ACORN accountable and make it ineligible for funding, but instead it has joined the enterprise that can only be called criminal,” Wilson concluded.

 

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

Wilson also called for an immediate freeze in the disbursement of federal funds to ACORN that he described as “a criminal enterprise whose main purpose is to undermine electoral procedures.”

“The voter registration fraud has been so widespread and so extensive now that if House Republican Leader Boehner does not bring ACORN to account, the organization will continue to run roughshod over the democratic process,” said Wilson in a statement.

“While these criminal investigations are ongoing, Congress has no business funneling taxpayer money to ACORN’s burgeoning accounts,” Wilson added.

ACORN was made eligible for more than $2 billion under the $787 billion “stimulus” spending bill. ACORN is also currently eligible for over $500 million of an “affordable housing fund” created under the $300 billion Foreclosure Prevention Act passed this past summer, and according to the Consumer Rights League receives some 40 percent of its funding from taxpayers annually.

“Congressional Democrats can no longer pretend that ACORN is an above-board organization,” said Wilson. “Further, Congress cannot continue funding a criminal enterprise.”

Wilson’s call for Congressional hearings follows Nevada State Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto bringing criminal charges against ACORN and two former employees for registration fraud. The state says that the organization published a handbook and constructed policies setting up a quota system to register voters.

“By structuring employment and compensation around a quota system, ACORN facilitated voter registration fraud,” Masto said. “In Nevada, it is unlawful for a person to provide compensation for registering voters that is based on the total number of voters a person registers.”

ACORN has been under investigation for voter fraud in several swing states, including Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Missouri, and has a long history of such fraud in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico. Americans for Limited government last year released the following executive summary of its activities.

“The most recent charges in Nevada are not just an isolated incident,” Wilson said. “These efforts have been concerted and coordinated for years to steal elections, boost urban representation, and weaken the nation’s political institutions.”

Wilson reminded the press that in 2008 more than 30,000 more people than were eligible to register in Marion County in Indiana were somehow registered to vote. He also cited:

• Michigan, where municipal clerks have reported that ACORN has been responsible for fraudulent and duplicate voter registration applications statewide.

• Seattle, Washington, where felony charges have been filed against ACORN in the state’s largest voter-fraud case ever in 2007 when the state filed felony charges against several paid ACORN employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations.

• New Mexico, where officials in Bernalillo County have notified federal authorities of more than 1,000 fraudulent voter registration cards, with ACORN as the prime suspect.

• And Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where election officials have accused ACORN of filing multiple fraudulent voter registrations during the 2008 primary. In March 2008, an ACORN worker in Pennsylvania was sentenced for making 29 phony voter registration forms.

Wilson noted that the Census Bureau is enlisting the aid of ACORN in counting the 2010 census. “Taken together, it is obvious that the registration efforts, the census participation, and the Congressional funding are all connected,” said Wilson. He said it was “like a pay-to-play scandal, but this is even worse.”

“This is actually an elaborate, coordinated national effort to finance a criminal enterprise devoted to conjuring and developing fraudulent constituencies at taxpayer expense,” Wilson explained. “And it must come to an end.”

Wilson has previously called for ACORN to be defunded by Congress for its role in lobbying for loose credit standards that have contributed to the current financial crisis.

“House Minority Leader Boehner needs to take the lead to stop ACORN, freeze its funding, and root out any efforts by the Congressional majority to kick back even more taxpayer dollars to the organization,” said Wilson.

Wilson also encouraged Americans nationwide to visit StopACORN.org to sign a petition calling for ACORN to be investigated for election fraud.

Wilson warned House Republican Leader Boehner to move as quickly as possible to hold ACORN accountable. “There needs to be a sense of urgency to defend our electoral processes. Congress won’t just be preserving the legality of the vote, it will be preserving our representative democracy,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

“The public has a right to know to if and when legislative favors are made in return for lucrative government contracts,” said ALG President Bill Wilson.

The FOIA request includes all contracts between the FDIC and CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the company Richard Blum chairs. Blum is Feinstein’s husband. The request also includes all communications between the FDIC and CBRE, the FDIC and Feinstein’s office, the FDIC and Blum, and the FDIC and Feinstein.

“The only way the American people are going to get to the bottom of this growing pay-to-play scandal is when this information is made public,” Wilson said.

“Now is the time to cast some sunshine on the cesspool politics that is so often commonplace in Washington,” Wilson added.

On April 21st, the Washington Times reported that Feinstein offered on October 30th, 2008 to secure funds for the FDIC just days before the agency awarded a three-year contract to CBRE “which raises the appearance of impropriety.”

The Feinstein bill would provide the FDIC with an unusual direct grant to expand its mortgage modification and loan guarantee programs. Mr. Blum’s contract with the FDIC could ne him hundreds of millions of dollars in sale of foreclosed properties held by the FDIC.

Americans for Limited Government recently called upon the Senate Ethics Committee to immediately investigate Feinstein’s role in the scandal.

According to the Times story, Feinstein’s $25 billion proposal was a “pet project of FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair.” Feinstein ultimately introduced the legislation on January 6th of this year to give direct funds to the FDIC, which originally was supposed to operate by raising money from bank-paid insurance payments.

Feinstein’s unusual move came directly on the heels of her husband receiving a highly lucrative FDIC contract. By March, the FDIC had assigned CBRE 507 foreclosed properties to be sold, worth $221.7 million. It already has under contract to be sold more than $11 million worth of properties.

“We trust that the FDIC will be prompt in turning over the requested documents. Pay-to-play corruption symbolizes why America disdains politics as usual, and until it is rooted out and treated harshly, public confidence in our political system will continue to erode,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

In a statement, Wilson said, “Americans for Limited Government thanks the Senate for voting against the radical fringe of the Democrat party and for rejecting the idea of forcing those who pay their bills to also pay for those who won’t.”

“H.R. 1106 would have forced responsible U.S. taxpayers and homeowners to compensate delinquent borrowers and irresponsible lenders that took out and made the bad loans in the first place,” Wilson added.

The legislation had passed the House of Representatives 234-191, but failed by 15 votes in the Senate when the Democrat Senate majority bucked the Obama Administration by refusing to kill a Republican filibuster. The vote was 45-51, and effectively kills the legislation.

“The American people did not support this out-and-out robbery,” he added. “And thanks to the Senate, who stood with their constituents, the American people have finally won a small victory against the bailout barons.”

Wilson, in a letter to Congress in February, warned that the legislation would have further weakened and distorted the housing market.

“The Senate’s constituents are the ones who would have ultimately paid for these mortgage cram-downs,” Wilson said.

“It would have forced banks to eat the costs when the principal owed on the mortgage is reduced, and then the banks facing insolvency would have had to then turn to the government for more bailout funds,” Wilson explained.

“The taxpayers then would have wound up paying twice: first to bail out the borrower who couldn’t afford their house, and then the bank that was forced by government to make the bad loans in the first place,” Wilson added.

Wilson also warned in detail that the bankruptcy courts would have become overwhelmed, “There were about 2.3 million foreclosures in 2008, and fortunately most of the Senate realized that 368 bankruptcy judges could not handle that sort of caseload.”

“It would have been an unmitigated disaster,” Wilson said.

Wilson believes that most Americans do not support President Obama’s plans for mortgages.

“It’s very simple: the American people do not want to reward those who made bad decisions in the first place. It is Barack Obama who now stands for paying off those who took out loans they could not afford and wants to continue to force banks to make loans that cannot be paid back,” Wilson said.

“Fortunately, Obama’s upside-down worldview is starting to unravel,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

ALG News has learned that at least one Senator is considering placing a hold on Sims’ nomination for additional questioning over Sims’ role in long-standing stadium controversy. And now more are raising questions over the controversial nomination’s qualifications.

“As King County Executive, Ron Sims’ administration first concealed information from King County voters to get Qwest Field built via a 1997 referendum,” said Wilson.

“And then, Sims’ office concealed the same information for another four years from Armen Yousoufian, who prior to the vote requested studies be made public that were damaging to the political case made by Sims to the county legislature and residents who voted to build the stadium,” Wilson added.

“And then, only because of a court order did his office ‘find’ the documents. Barack Obama promised the most open, transparent administration ever. And yet Obama’s nominee Sims acted so arrogantly that it took a court to force him to disclose basic information,” Wilson noted.

In a recent video interview with the Washington News Observer, when asked if he concealed anything and was fined $120,000, Sims denied any wrongdoing. “I didn’t conceal anything… I was not fined $120,000.”

“As a matter of fact, it’s interesting because there is nothing in the court record at all involving me personally. I never was involved in that at all. There’s nothing—nothing regarding my conduct. I didn’t conceal a thing. I did order the release of documents after they were discovered, but I never concealed anything,” Sims added.

The trial court that originally heard the case ruled King County could have complied with Yousoufian’s request within five business days following Yousoufian’s initial request. Instead it took more than four years and a handful of lawsuits.

Contradicting Sims’ denial that “there is nothing in the court record” involving him, “The office of Ron Sims, King County Executive” was listed as the respondent in the case Yousoufian v. Sims, as reported by the Washington Examiner.

“To this day, Sims cannot come to grips with the fact that the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that his office ‘repeatedly deceived and misinformed Yousoufian,’” said Wilson.

According to the majority opinion in the case, “The unchallenged findings of fact demonstrate King County repeatedly deceived and misinformed Yousoufian for years. King County told Yousoufian it produced all the requested documents, when in fact it had not. King County told Yousoufian the information was located elsewhere, when in fact it was not. After years of delay, mispresentation, and ineptitude on the part of King County, Yousoufian filed suit; nevertheless, it would still take another year for King County to completely and accurately respond to Yousoufian’s original request, well past the purpose of his request, the referendum on public financing of a sports stadium.”

“Sometimes, the truth hurts,” said Wilson.

“Ron Sims may not like it, but it is a matter of public record that his office concealed information that was politically damaging. And that is not the sort of record that ought to be brought to Washington,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

# # #

ALG Editor’s Note: Yesterday, the Washington Examiner broke news of startling contradiction by Barack Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of HUD, Ron Sims, current King County Executive, in the following featured commentary:

Court Records Contradict HUD Nominee’s Remarks to Television Crew

By: Kevin Mooney
Examiner Investigative Reporter
04/28/09 3:38 PM

President Barack Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) told Senator David Vitter (R-La.) last week during a confirmation hearing that he could not comment about his role in an on-going legal battle over a sport stadium.

“With regard to the litigation involving Qwest Field, since the matter is involved in active litigation, I am regrettably unable to comment upon that case,” said Ronald Sims, the King County Executive in Washington State.

However, when he was interviewed by a television crew the next day about a $120,000 fine Sims denied concealing any records or having any personal involvement in the case. Sims also said there were no records linking him with the case.

“I didn’t conceal anything, so you’re absolutely wrong on that,” he said. “I was not fined $120,000. As a matter of fact, it’s interesting because there is nothing in the court record at all involving me personally. I never was involved in that at all. There’s nothing—nothing regarding my conduct. I didn’t conceal a thing. I did order the release of documents after they were discovered, but I never concealed anything.”

Court records contradict these statements. “The office of Ron Sims, King County Executive” was listed as the respondent in a court ruling issued this past January. Writing for the majority in Yousoufian v. Sims, Justice Richard Sanders concluded that information was withheld from the plaintiff and that fines should be levied.

The opinion reads as follows: “The unchallenged findings of fact demonstrate King County repeatedly deceived and misinformed Yousoufian for years. King County told Yousoufian it produced all the requested documents, when in fact it had not. King County told Yousoufian the information was located elsewhere, when in fact it was not. After years of delay, mispresentation, and ineptitude on the part of King County, Yousoufian filed suit; nevertheless, it would still take another year for King County to completely and accurately respond to Yousoufian’s original request, well past the purpose of his request, the referendum on public financing of a sports stadium [emphasis added].”

In this same ruling it was also noted that, “The trial court found King County could have complied with Yousoufian’s PRA [Public Records Act] request within ‘five business days’ following Yousoufian’s initial request.”

Armen Yousoufian, the plaintiff, asked for records of government studies that examined costs connected with the proposed Seattle Seahawks stadium. This request was made when King County residents were still a few weeks away from voting on a referendum to raise taxes by $300 million, according to Americans for Limited Government (ALG), a group opposed to the Sims HUD nomination.

King County has now been ordered to pay Yousoufian $120,000, the largest fine in state history, ALG claims in a news release.

There is no question that Sims is the main defendant in this case, despite what he told the television crew, Carter Clews the communication for ALG, said. The records could have been released in a timely fashion that would help serve the public interest but instead this took years , costing millions of dollars in litigation, he added.

“He’s being Clintonesque in his words,” Richard McCarty, a researcher with ALG said. “He’s trying to say it’s his office that has been fined but not him personally, but he’s the one responsible here.”