Lawsuit alleges Whitmer Administration concealed sensitive email through a ‘calculated’ scheme.

Michigan governor pledged to bring transparency to‍ Great⁢ Lakes State

A consultant for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D.,​ Mich.) used a ⁢coded message in‌ a “calculated” effort to “conceal” from the public record sensitive communications regarding the administration’s ‌response ‍to a local water crisis in Michigan, according to⁢ a lawsuit.

Michigan energy department consultant Andy Leavitt in September 2021 emailed a top adviser to Whitmer to express “some major red flags” with the‌ administration’s response to a lead water crisis in southwestern Michigan, which Leavitt compared to a similar‌ crisis in Flint, Michigan. But Leavitt’s initial message was not⁤ written in⁢ English—the consultant ⁤used letters in the Greek alphabet ‌in place of English ​ones, a move that ⁢”appears to be calculated to conceal the statements,” a June court filing ⁢ in a class⁣ action suit⁢ against Whitmer’s government ⁣argues. Leavitt’s use of Greek letters means his email would​ have been excluded from any public records request for government⁤ communications that‌ contain⁤ the word “Flint.”

The apparent scheme to hide sensitive conversations from public records requests ⁤comes years after​ Whitmer‌ promised to ⁣bring transparency to​ the ‍Great Lakes⁤ State as governor. In Michigan, the governor’s office is not subject to the ⁢Freedom of Information Act, a policy ‍that Whitmer promised⁤ to‌ reverse during her ⁤2018 campaign. “Michiganders should ‍know when and what their⁤ governor is working on,” the Democrat said at the⁢ time.

But Whitmer has not ​reversed the policy. Her office is still ‍exempt from public records⁢ requests ‍years after she promised to issue an executive ⁤order that would subject her office to such requests. The Democrat during her first term ⁤also defended severance payments and confidentiality ⁢agreements ⁤with former employees, which Republicans characterized as “hush ⁢money.”

Neither Whitmer nor Leavitt⁤ returned requests for comment.

Leavitt’s 2021 coded message discusses the lead water‌ crisis in Benton ‍Harbor, a small town in southwestern Michigan. The town’s water system ⁤for years exceeded ‍federal standards for ​lead contamination, prompting a group of residents‍ in November 2021 to sue Whitmer over ⁣her government’s “deliberate ⁤indifference” to addressing the crisis.

One month before the residents filed their suit, Leavitt—a partner at a Michigan strategic consulting firm who was advising Whitmer’s energy department—emailed Whitmer ⁣senior adviser Kara Cook to express his concern over the administration’s “not acceptable” warnings to Benton ​Harbor residents. Leavitt’s top-line assessment ⁤of‌ the warnings, however, was written using the Greek alphabet. Changing Leavitt’s font ⁢to standard English⁣ reveals the following message: “Hot ‍off ‌the presses. ⁣As I warned⁢ there are some major red flags. It ​seems like we are back⁤ at square one having not learned ‍from Flint.”

While the⁤ lawsuit eventually led to the discovery of ⁣Leavitt’s⁣ message, the email likely ​would have remained⁤ hidden from ⁤the public if Whitmer’s administration had not⁤ faced ‌legal action. That’s because Michigan’s public records department is​ unable to⁣ electronically search ‌for records that ​use Greek letters, government correspondence obtained by the Washington⁣ Free Beacon shows.⁤ As a ‌result, even if a concerned citizen or political group caught ⁢wind of the tactic and requested energy department communications that use certain Greek letters, Michigan’s government would have been ⁢unable to provide them without⁣ searching for⁢ the⁢ letters manually, an⁢ extremely expensive process that⁣ can take years.

A veteran public records researcher told ⁢the ‌ Free Beacon he had never seen government officials use foreign alphabets to convey sensitive messages.

“I‌ haven’t seen it ⁤before, but ​it doesn’t surprise me,” the researcher said. “Agencies play games to fight requests all the ‌time. If they’re doing it here, ⁢where else are they doing it?”

Whitmer secured⁤ reelection in November, and‍ the Democrat’s second term comes as her party⁢ controls both chambers ​of the state legislature for the first time in nearly four decades. Still,​ it’s unclear if Whitmer and her legislative allies ⁢will pass ⁤ethics⁢ reform laws⁣ to make Michigan ‍more transparent. Only Republicans​ have introduced‌ such legislation as of May, ​and Whitmer refused to give Axios a direct answer‍ when asked if ‌she would subject ​her office to⁤ public records⁢ requests via executive order.