FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
June 19, 2017
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@
Cover Up? Screenshots Reveal Schuette Staff Covering Tracks on Personal Emails
LANSING — High-ranking staffers within Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office are still using personal emails on state time, despite an ongoing Progress Michigan lawsuit, according to a new report from the Great Lakes Beacon, a project of Progress Michigan.
The Beacon obtained an email sent by Schuette’s Director of Public Affairs, Rusty Hills, from his personal Gmail account during business hours. When asked for comment, Schuette spokesperson Andrea Bitely claimed that Hills’ email was publicly available on the Attorney General’s website – but source code analysis shows that the document was only uploaded at 12:49 pm this afternoon, approximately an hour after the Beacon’s request for further information.
“The ongoing use of personal emails by Schuette’s inner circle – and apparently botched cover-up – raises serious questions about activities within the AG’s office,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “If Hills’ email concerned state business, why did he use his personal Gmail – particularly in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit over private emails? And if it wasn’t state business, then why is Hills doing political campaign work on taxpayer time – a likely violation of state law? Either way, it’s time for Attorney General Schuette to come clean by releasing all personal emails sent by his staffers on taxpayer time.”
###