AP: Fallin’s Top Lawyer Responds To Secrecy Claims
Fallin’s top lawyer responds to secrecy claims
By Sean Murphy, Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — Even though Gov. Mary Fallin remains locked in two separate legal battles over her office’s refusal to release documents, her top lawyer insists Fallin’s administration is the most transparent Oklahoma has ever seen.
Fallin signed a pledge while running for office to uphold both the spirit and the letter of the state’s open government laws, but critics say she is falling far short, and a statewide organization dedicated to supporting the state’s sunshine laws gave both Fallin and her general counsel its annual “Black Hole Award” this year for thwarting the free flow of information.
“I really passionately believe that we’re the most transparent administration you’ve ever seen,” Steve Mullins, Fallin’s general counsel, told The Associated Press in an interview at the governor’s office. “The reason I say that is that we do not hide documents.”
Mullins, a longtime federal prosecutor before joining Fallin’s administration, suggested some state officials in the past may have simply failed to produce documents that were incriminating.