Watchdogs seek White House correspondence and other evidence uncovered in investigation of ex-CPB Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson

 

WASHINGTON -- Common Cause, the Center for Digital Democracy, and Free Press today filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The groups seek copies of any correspondence between the White House and CPB officials and other evidence uncovered in recent Inspector General investigations.

A report released last week by the CPB Inspector General found that former Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson violated the law by interfering in programming at PBS and secretly hiring a Republican operative to monitor "Now with Bill Moyers." The report also found that "political tests" were a "major criteria" in the hiring of former Republican Party Chairwoman Patricia de Stacy Harrison as president and CEO of CPB.

"There's no reason the Inspector General's full inquiry should not be made public," said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree. "It's obvious CPB is a troubled agency and failure to disclose the results of the investigation in its entirety just increases mistrust and thwarts efforts to reform this public institution."

The Inspector General's report revealed the existence of a "separate investigative report, along with specific evidence indicating possible wrongdoing, to the Board for their disposition." This report apparently includes correspondence between Tomlinson and White House adviser Karl Rove discussing CPB programming and hiring decisions. CPB officials previously have refused to release the e-mails and other documents contained in this separate report, citing "confidentiality agreements."

"The CPB board forgets that the word public is part of their name -- and mandate," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "Their fiduciary responsibility is to that public. They should not be condoning cover-ups."

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, despite claiming to be exempt from FOIA, has previously gone on record as saying it will voluntarily process FOIA requests it receives.

The groups seek:

• The separate "investigative report" and "specific evidence indicating possible wrongdoing" given to the members of the CPB Board of Directors by the Inspector General.

• Any and all reports or records given to Members of Congress related to the Inspector General's investigation.

• Any and all communications between the White House, former CPB President Kathleen Cox, Harrison and members of the board during the past 36 months.

• Minutes for both the public and closed-door CPB board meetings for the past 36 months.

• All information and materials related to the recruitment of Harrison; the hiring of ombudsmen William Schultz and Kenneth Bode; the monitoring of political content on PBS and NPR by Fred W. Mann; and all the development, funding and promotion of "Tucker Carlson Unfiltered" and "The Journal Editorial Report."

The groups also will file a FOIA request related to separate inquiry into Tomlinson's actions as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors--which oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, TV Marti and other government "public diplomacy" efforts. An Inspector General at the State Department is currently investigating Tomlinson for possible misuse of funds and hiring of unqualified employees at the Broadcasting Board of Governors. According to the New York Times, the Rove-Tomlinson e-mails first surfaced as part of the State Department probe.

Tomlinson resigned from the CPB Board before the Inspector General's report was made public, but he continues to serve as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. However, his nomination to a second term on the board is currently stalled in the Senate.

"There should be no place for Kenneth Tomlinson or his cronies anywhere in the federal government," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press. "The only way to put an end to this sordid chapter in the history of public broadcasting is to release all of the evidence from these investigations to the public. If the individual agencies won't cooperate, then Congress needs to get involved."

 

The text of the two FOIA requests follows:

Patricia de Stacy Harrison, President and CEO
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
401 Ninth Street NW
Washington DC 20004-2129

Re: Freedom of Information Act Request

Dear Ms. Harrison:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 USC 552. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, despite claiming to be exempt from FOIA, has previously gone on record as saying it will voluntarily process FOIA requests it receives./1/ Furthermore, CPB, as a government-controlled corporation, is included as a covered agency under section (f)(1) of FOIA under the provisions of the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996./2/

Therefore, we request that unredacted copies of the following documents be made available:

• Any and all reports, records (paper or electronic), including electronic mail, phone logs, appointment calendars and other material given to Members of Congress related to the CPB inspector general’s investigation related to Report No. EPB503-602 – the “Review of Alleged Actions Violating The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, as Amended.” These materials are described on page 1 of Report EPB503-602, as released on November 15, 2005;
• A separate “investigative report” given to the members of the CPB Board of Directors, which includes “specific evidence indicating possible wrongdoing” as described in page 2 of the Nov. 15, 2005 report;
• All information and materials specified in Appendix A of the report released on November 15, 2005, i.e. the Korn/Ferry contract(s) and documents (including, but not limited to, amendments, approvals, invoices, etc.) related to the recruitment of a CPB president; the contract(s) with Fred W. Mann and any other materials related to his provision of services to CPB; contracts with RheemMedia related to the Ombudsman; contracts for William Schultz and Kenneth Bode and all communications between them and the board or board members; contract(s) and all related communications (including, but not limited to, amendments, approvals, invoices, etc.), with Spencer Stuart for its 2005 recruitment work for CPB president; the CPB National Programming Service contract and all correspondence between CPB board members, CPB President, and CPB senior staff related to the funding of “Tucker Carlson Unfiltered;” CPB contract(s) with Dow Jones Inc., including all correspondence and communications by board members, CPB president or senior staff related to the funding, carriage and promotion of “The Journal Editorial Report;”
• Minutes for both the public and executive CPB board meetings for the last 36 months, including discussions on: CPB programming including “balance;” the office of Ombudsman; reports about programming given by Michael Pack or his deputy; all discussions related to the recruitment, hire, or termination of CPB presidents Cox and Harrison; and board minutes related to the recent vote of confidence of Ms. Harrison; and
• Any and all communications between the White House, CPB presidents Cox and Harrison and members of the board whether by mail, phone log or electronic mail during the last 36 months. These should include communications described in the November 15, 2005 report with the Executive Office of the President or other White House office, such as cited on page 14, 19, 22, 26, and 42.

We are employees of nonprofit organizations who work to increase understanding of the workings of public television. As such, we ask that all fees for this request be waived. Disclosure of the information requested above is in the public interest because it will significantly contribute to public understanding of the operations of CPB, which is funded through the contributions and tax dollars of American citizens. This information will specifically show the degree to which the CPB is accountable and responsive to the American public it is charged to serve.

Given the CPB’s existing precedent and your own willingness to honor FOIA, we look forward to your compliance with this request. We request that you inform us immediately of your receipt of this letter; we also request that you immediately notify us when the documents we have requested are available for retrieval, as they become available. If you must deny access, please notify us immediately of your determination as well as the reasons for making that determination.

Thank you for your consideration.

Chellie Pingree Jeffrey Chester Josh Silver
Common Cause Center for Digital Democracy Free Press
1250 Connecticut Ave., NW 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW 1801 18th St. NW
Washington, DC 20036 Washington, DC 20009 Washington, DC 2009
202-833-1200 202 986-2220 202-265-1490

/1/ Footnote [iv] of Chapter 14 of the Legal Handbook for NYS Journalists, which specifically mentions the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Information is available at www.nysba.org .

/2/ 5 U.S.C. § 552, as amended by Public Law No. 104-231, 110 Stat. 3048.

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22 November 2005

Martha Diaz Ortiz, FOIA/Privacy Act Officer
Broadcasting Board of Governors
330 Independence Avenue SW
Washington DC 20237

Re: Freedom of Information Act Request

Dear Ms. Diaz:

The undersigned organization representatives request unredacted copies of the following documents under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 USC 552:

Any and all reports, records (paper or electronic), including electronic mail, phone logs and appointment calendars of Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson with any reference to his role or work as chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to include but not be limited to any and all communications on this topic with White House personnel, the Executive Office of the President, current and former CPB staff or contract personnel, and any other individual or organization that communicated with Tomlinson regarding his work associated with CPB in the past 36 months.

We are employees of nonprofit organizations who work to increase understanding of the workings of U.S.-funded public broadcasting organizations. As such, we ask that all fees for this request be waived. Disclosure of the information requested above is in the public interest because it will significantly contribute to public understanding of the operations of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. This information will specifically show the degree to which the BBG is accountable and responsive to the American public it is charged to serve.

We request that you inform us immediately of your receipt of this letter; we also request that you immediately notify us when the documents we have requested are available for retrieval, as they become available. If you must deny access, please notify us immediately of your determination as well as the reasons for making that determination.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Chellie Pingree Jeffrey Chester Josh Silver
Common Cause Center for Digital Democracy Free Press
1250 Connecticut Ave., NW 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW 1801 18th St. NW
Washington, DC 20036 Washington, DC 20009 Washington, DC 2009
202-833-1200 202 986-2220 202-265-1490