A new spate of reports show a boiling crisis for Trump in his “second home” state. Florida’s Latino voters are heading to the polls in record numbers to repudiate Trump’s years of anti-immigrant, racist rhetoric and his dangerous campaign. And Trump’s offensive closing ad has been widely slammed as anti-Semitic by prominent Jewish groups.

Trump has done little to correct course. This weekend in Tampa, Trump kicked out a twelve-year-old with cerebral palsy from his rally. In Sarasota today, he claimed he would win the Latino vote because “the Cubans gave me the award,” lashed out at the Beyhive (Beyonce fans), admired a mask of his head, and bragged about his southern border wall. Don’t worry, Mexico will pay for it.

What an uplifting closing argument.

Miami Herald: Hispanics voting in record numbers in Florida, other states, boosting Hillary Clinton

Tampa Bay Times: Poll: Florida Hispanics back Clinton 60% to 30% over Donald Trump

USA Today: Here’s why Donald Trump (almost certainly) can’t win without Florida

The Jerusalem Post: ‘One word’ ad warns Florida: Trump is a threat to Jews, too

New York Times: Fear of Donald Trump Helps Democrats Mobilize Hispanics

McClatchy: Clinton and Trump both release 2-minute ads, and Trump’s draws anger from Jewish groups

Haaretz: In Florida, the ‘Trump Effect’ Strikes Fear in Immigrant Children

Creative Loafing Tampa: Trump’s (probably) last Tampa rally a stream of consciousness, baby-kissin’

“Marco Rubio has never had a job he wasn’t looking to leave as soon as possible,” said Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for Correct The Record. “From the West Miami City Commission all the way to the Senate, he has been bored, unavailable and absent—with one eye always fixed on the next brass ring. Right now, the good people of Florida are footing the bill for his next political joyride, but they shouldn’t have to. If Marco Rubio doesn’t want to do his day job, he should resign immediately.”

For a full history of Marco Rubio’s record of playing hookey, take a look at CTR’s research compiled in “Where’s Marco?” In every role he’s had, Rubio has forced his constituents to play Marco Polo with their ambitious representative. Enough’s enough. It’s time for Rubio to resign.

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The gap in his emails not only highlights the hypocrisy of Jeb Bush’s wrongheaded attacks against Hillary Clinton, but reveal several unanswered questions about the Bush’s close ties to lobbyists.

Here are some quick facts about Jeb Bush’s transparency (or lack thereof):

• Jeb said he received 550,000 emails on his private account during his eight years as governor.
• Jeb has only released 250,000 of these emails.
• Jeb was required to do this by Florida sunshine law.
• It took Jeb nearly eight years after his time in office to release these emails (a potential criminal offense).

Here’s more:

Jeb Bush failed to release e-mails related to official government business

Jeb Bush’s e-mail release did not include correspondence in which he personally weighed in on a trade dispute between Bacardi and Cuba. “But a 2002 trade battle between Bacardi and Cuba over the rights to the ‘Havana Club’ label shows Bush’s transparency has its limits and shows some details are missing from the Bush email repository. A string of emails from Bush personally weighing in on the Bacardi fight when he was governor of Florida were not among any of the releases. Their existence is only known because a Florida investigative reporter obtained them years ago.” [CNN, 10/01/15]

• CNN: Jeb Bush’s e-mail release was “missing some incisive emails” related to the Bacardi dispute. “But even all those gigabytes are still missing some incisive emails — like an April 2002 directive from Bush to his then-chief of staff with a clear message about the rum lobbying fight: ‘this is ridiculous. let us discuss.’” [CNN, 10/01/15]

• CNN: “Some of the most relevant” e-mails about the Bacardi dispute were missing from Jeb Bush’s “much-trumpeted data dump.” “More than a dozen relevant emails about the battle were found in the state of Florida public records response, and a smaller number were found in Bush’s own release last December. But some of the most relevant ones — tying Bush to calls for direct action for Bacardi — were missing from his much-trumpeted data dump.” [CNN, 10/01/15]

Jeb Bush’s e-mail dump excluded correspondence with a top George W. Bush appointee at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “Bush emails obtained from the state in the following months show his top Tallahassee and Washington staff working consistently on the issue, including a renewed push in April 2002 and again, a few months later, when Bush sent a letter to James Rogan, then-director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Rogan, a former California congressman who helped lead the Clinton impeachment proceedings, was appointed to the position by Bush’s brother, President George W. Bush. The letter was not included in the emails released by Bush, but Christensen posted a copy he obtained.” [CNN, 10/01/15]

Jeb Bush’s e-mails around the Bacardi dispute were absent from both his e-mail release and a Florida Department of State response to an open record request. “Among the emails not made public by Bush, but documented by Florida investigative reporter Dan Christensen earlier this year, is the reply from Bush’s then-chief of staff Kathleen Shanahan that their early efforts for Bacardi had not worked and ‘we may need to move up the food chain.’ The Bacardi emails were not in copies of Bush’s emails provided to CNN by the Florida Department of State in response to an open records request. They also were not found on Bush’s email website — which includes a smaller set of the batch released by the state.” [CNN, 10/01/15]

Jeb Bush’s campaign refused to say what happened to the missing e-mails about the Bacardi trade dispute. “A Bush campaign spokeswoman did not say what happened to the missing emails and would not say whether she felt Bush should back off the Clinton email attacks. Instead, spokeswoman Kristy Campbell touted Bush’s ‘unprecedented commitment to transparency.’” [CNN, 10/01/15]

Jeb Bush owned a private email server and hand selected emails to disclose

Jeb Bush owned and operated a private e-mail server. “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush owns the server that runs jeb@jeb.org, the personal email account he used as governor to conduct official, political and personal business. […] The server was housed in a state-owned office building during the years that Bush served as governor, from 1999 until early 2007.” [MSNBC, 3/4/15]

Jeb Bush conducted all his communication on his private jeb@jeb.org account and hand selected which emails to turn over to the state archive. “The former governor conducted all his communication on his private Jeb@jeb.org account and turned over the hand-selected batch to the state archives when he left office. Absent from the stash are emails the governor deemed not relevant to the public record: those relating to politics, fundraising and personal matters while he was governor. Compared to Scott, however, who rarely communicates by email, the contrast is stark.’ [Tampa Bay Times, 1/3/15]

Jeb Bush released his private emails from the state archive, but the files were “not complete.” “The files released from the state archive resulted in a stream of positive national press for the former governor — ‘Jeb Bush’s emails depict a hands-on governor,’ the Washington Post proclaimed. ‘Jeb answered immigrant pleas,’’ the Hill wrote. Polls now show that if Bush announces, he will be considered the front-runner. The Bush files, though enormous, are not complete, however.” [Tampa Bay Times, 1/3/15]

As governor, Jeb Bush had three email accounts, including jeb@jeb.org. “In three follow-up e-mails (which Bush also answers promptly), the governor reveals: He has three e-mail accounts, receives 200 to 300 a day onJeb@Jeb.org and reads most of them. He guesses that 25 percent of the e-mails come from colleagues, 50 percent from constituents, 10 percent from family and friends and 15 percent from junk mail and list mail. The risk, he says, is in relying too much on e-mail, at the expense of face-to-face nuance. ‘There is always [the] threat of invading family time!’ he writes.” [The Washington Post, 2/21/03]

• Bush continued to use the private jeb@jeb.org email after leaving office. [Email from Jeb Bush To Matt Castner, 6/5/08]

• Bush estimated 25 percent of email traffic came from colleagues. “In three follow-up e-mails (which Bush also answers promptly), the governor reveals: He has three e-mail accounts, receives 200 to 300 a day onJeb@Jeb.org and reads most of them. He guesses that 25 percent of the e-mails come from colleagues, 50 percent from constituents, 10 percent from family and friends and 15 percent from junk mail and list mail. The risk, he says, is in relying too much on e-mail, at the expense of face-to-face nuance. ‘There is always [the] threat of invading family time!’ he writes.” [The Washington Post, 2/21/03]

Jeb Bush used a second and previously unreported jeb@gencom.net account. ”As Florida governor, Jeb Bush used another, previously unreported email address, records show – the newest wrinkle in an evolving debate over public officials’ use of private email accounts. When Bush released thousands of emails from his tenure as Florida’s governor as part of his preparations to run for president next year, he did so from the email account he shared openly, jeb@jeb.org. Those emails also include references to another email address, jeb@gencom.net. Bush said through a spokeswoman that he was unaware of the account, although records showed that people wrote to him there more than 400 times between 1999 and 2004.” [AP, 3/24/15]

Jeb Bush only publicly released emails associated with is jeb@jeb.org account. ”When Bush released thousands of emails from his tenure as Florida’s governor as part of his preparations to run for president next year, he did so from the email account he shared openly, jeb@jeb.org.” [AP, 3/24/15]

• Bush claimed to have no knowledge of the second account although he received more than 400 emails there between 1999 and 2004. ”Bush said through a spokeswoman that he was unaware of the account, although records showed that people wrote to him there more than 400 times between 1999 and 2004. The same records show no replies from Bush coming from that address. Instead, when Bush responded, he did so from his more well-known email address. Writers sometimes also reached the governor at jeb@jebbush.org or jeb@myflorida.com. Bush’s spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell, said Bush had no knowledge of the other email account. ‘He doesn’t know what that email address is,’ she told The Associated Press Tuesday.” [Associated Press, 3/24/15]

Writers were also able to reach Jeb Bush at jeb@jebbush.org and jeb@myflorida.com. “Those emails also include references to another email address, jeb@gencom.net. Bush said through a spokeswoman that he was unaware of the account, although records showed that people wrote to him there more than 400 times between 1999 and 2004. The same records show no replies from Bush coming from that address. Instead, when Bush responded, he did so from his more well-known email address. Writers sometimes also reached the governor at jeb@jebbush.org or jeb@myflorida.com.” [AP, 3/24/15]

• Jeb Bush estimated 25 percent of email traffic came from colleagues. ”In three follow-up e-mails (which Bush also answers promptly), the governor reveals: He has three e-mail accounts, receives 200 to 300 a day onJeb@Jeb.org and reads most of them. He guesses that 25 percent of the e-mails come from colleagues, 50 percent from constituents, 10 percent from family and friends and 15 percent from junk mail and list mail. The risk, he says, is in relying too much on e-mail, at the expense of face-to-face nuance. ‘There is always [the] threat of invading family time!’ he writes.” [The Washington Post, 2/21/03]

Jeb Bush only turned over emails seven and a half years after his tenure as Governor ended despite a Florida statute requiring officials to turn over records “at the expiration of his or her term of office.” ”It took Mr. Bush seven years after leaving office to comply fully with a Florida public records statute requiring him to turn over emails he sent and received as governor, according to records released Friday. Mr. Bush delivered the latest batch of 25,000 emails in May 2014, seven and a half years after leaving the Statehouse and just as he started to contemplate a potential run for the White House, according to a newly disclosed letter written by his lawyer. A Florida statute governing the preservation of public records requires elected officials, including the governor, to turn over records pertaining to official business ‘at the expiration of his or her term of office.’” [New York Times, 3/14/15]

Jeb Bush received 550,000 personal emails

Jeb Bush said “I received 550,000 personal e-mails when I was governor.” “This BlackBerry was in the portrait done when I left office. It was a symbol of how I worked. I received 550,000 personal e-mails when I was governor.” [Esquire, 12/22/08]

Jeb Bush said he received 550,000 e-mails on his private account during his eight years as governor. “Jeb Bush learned plenty during his eight years as Florida governor, he told a crowd at a United Christian Giving fundraiser in Fort Myers on Thursday. The president’s little brother and former president’s son took few partisan shots, mostly entertaining the crowd with stories from ‘Mount Tallahassee.’ […] Bush said he got 550,000 e-mails on his private account and another 2.5 million on his public account during his eight years as governor. That helped him stay in touch with the people of the state even though the capital is far removed geographically from most of the population.” [Naples Daily News, 7/12/07]

Jeb Bush said he received 2.5 million e-mails on his public account during his eight years as governor. “Jeb Bush learned plenty during his eight years as Florida governor, he told a crowd at a United Christian Giving fundraiser in Fort Myers on Thursday. The president’s little brother and former president’s son took few partisan shots, mostly entertaining the crowd with stories from ‘Mount Tallahassee.’ […] Bush said he got 550,000 e-mails on his private account and another 2.5 million on his public account during his eight years as governor. That helped him stay in touch with the people of the state even though the capital is far removed geographically from most of the population.” [Naples Daily News, 7/12/07]

Jeb Bush said he would release 250,000 emails

Jeb Bush said he would launch a website to make available about 250,000 e-mails from his time as governor. “Jeb Bush said he would launch a website on Tuesday on which he will make available about 250,000 emails from his time as governor of Florida, as well as the first chapter of an e-book about his administration. The emails, which were obtained by a number of news media organizations through a public records request in December, show Mr. Bush’s style in communicating with both his staff and his constituents.” [New York Times, 2/9/15]

Jeb Bush said he would release 250,000 emails from his two terms in office. “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said on Sunday he will release 250,000 emails from his two terms in office and write an eBook outlining his governing philosophy. The moves have set the political sphere atwitter with speculation he’s closer than ever to deciding to run for president in 2016. In what appears to be a move of classic political procedure — getting ahead of the opposition — Bush told WPLG-TV that his intention is to promote transparency.” [CNN, 12/31/14]

PolitiFact: Jeb Bush self-edited which emails were posted on his website. “Bush in 2007 said that he had received 550,000 emails through the Jeb@jeb.org address — plus another 2.5 million through his public email address — so obviously plenty were not included in the batch of about 250,000 that the Bush team posted in February. […] American Bridge said ‘Bush, not the State of Florida, decided which private emails to disclose.’ Bush did self-edit which emails were posted on a website he established in February, but the PAC doesn’t note one important point: State law allows him to do that. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. We rate it Mostly True.” [PolitiFact, 3/13/15]

Jeb Bush released emails that exposed Social Security numbers

Emails released by Jeb Bush included names, emails, and Social Security number of many Florida residents “leaving them vulnerable to identity thieves.” “A trove of 250,000 emails released by prospective 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush includes the sensitive personal information of several Florida residents, leaving them vulnerable to identity thieves. A scan of the email dump by technology blogs The Verge and Gizmodo revealed names, emails and in some cases, Social Security numbers of Bush’s correspondents. Many appear to be normal Florida residents unaware their messages to the then-governor would eventually become public.” [The Hill, 2/10/15]

Nearly 13,000 Social Security numbers were compromised in Jeb Bush’s email dump. “Todd Feinman, CEO of data protection firm Identity Finder, ran an analysis of the data and determined that nearly 13,000 unique social security numbers were released. His software, which uses natural language processing to identify sensitive information through contextual clues, found that about 12,500 of those were contained in a spreadsheet embedded in a PowerPoint slide attached to an email dated October 2003.” [Fortune, 2/13/15]

Jeb Bush’s email release was an “indiscriminate data dump being made for political reasons” and showed “a serious ignorance of the volume of sensitive information in the records and carelessness about their disclosure.” “Many posts were critical of Bush, who is expected to be a major contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. ‘Even if most of these emails are subject to Sunshine Law disclosure, a public request for specific information is not the same as a huge, indiscriminate data dump being made for political reasons,’ wrote T.C. Sottek with The Verge, which first reported the presence of Social Security numbers in the trove. ‘At minimum, it shows a serious ignorance of the volume of sensitive information in the records and a carelessness about their disclosure — not a good look for someone who may want to sit in the White House,’ Sottek wrote.” [The Hill, 2/10/15]

Jeb Bush’s server housed sensitive information

Jeb Bush discussed “security and military issues such as troop deployments to the Middle East and the protection of nuclear plants” using email housed on his private server. “Jeb Bush used his private e-mail account as Florida governor to discuss security and military issues such as troop deployments to the Middle East and the protection of nuclear plants, according to a review of publicly released records. The e-mails include two series of exchanges involving details of Florida National Guard troop deployments after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the review by The Washington Post found. Aides to Bush said Saturday that none of the e-mails contained sensitive or classified information, and that many of the events mentioned in them were documented in press accounts, either contemporaneously or later. But security experts say private e-mail systems such as the one used by Bush are more vulnerable to hackers, and that details such as troop movements could be exploited by enemies.” [Washington Post, 3/14/15]

Jeb Bush housed emails containing “sensitive security issues” on his private server. “An unknown number of the e-mails housed on Bush’s server were redacted or withheld from public release because they contained sensitive security issues, Bush representatives have said. Communications director Tim Miller said general policy was for Bush to discuss sensitive National Guard issues in person with only occasional briefings by e-mail that ‘wouldn’t contain information that should not be in the public domain.’” [Washington Post, 3/14/15]

Jeb Bush, within two months of 9/11, “ordered the National Guard to pull its troops from protecting nuclear power plants in Florida, simply because the private corporations that operated the plants didn’t want the protection.” “‘In November 2001, Bush and an aide to then-Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan exchanged messages about the deployment of National Guard troops to a nuclear power plant in Crystal River, Fla. The aide wrote Bush that a state lawmaker had called to say she thought “it is imperative that the Crystal River nuclear facility have National Guard security.” Bush wrote back: “Florida power does not want it. We are reducing or getting rid of guard protection in the other plants.”‘ That last line, to me, is the real bombshell — that within two months of 9/11, Bush ordered the National Guard to pull its troops from protecting nuclear power plants in Florida, simply because the private corporations that operated the plants didn’t want the protection. I wonder if the people who lived near the plants wanted the protection.” [Salon, 8/14/15]

As Jeb struggles to compete on a national stage dominated by Donald Trump, his super PAC, Right to Rise, has stepped in with a whopper of a television ad. The ad’s claims about Jeb’s record as governor reveal a commitment to obscuring Jeb’s truly radical and out of touch policy proposals.

Right to Rise’s Jeb Fallacies

“As Governor, he helped create 1.3 million new jobs.”

Jeb Bush’s job creation rate “was the lowest of Florida’s past five governors.” “A strong state and national economy fattened Florida’s budget by 45 percent — from $49 billion when he took office to more than $71 billion this year. Bush credited his tax cuts for strong job growth, although the rate was the lowest of Florida’s past five governors.” [Miami Herald, 12/17/06]

Jeb Bush built Florida’s economy on the housing bubble, causing the majority of the state’s job gains to be wiped out in the four years after he left office, once the bubble burst. “When you account for the role of housing, Bush’s economic record looks a lot more mixed. Almost all of the gains he talks up today, including three-fifths of the job creation, were wiped out in the four years after he left office, once the bubble burst.” [Washington Post, 6/16/15]

• After Jeb Bush left office, Florida’s economy averaged -2.4 percent growth, as opposed to the 0.3 percent national average. “The most striking stat, though, is growth. Under Bush, Florida indeed averaged 4.4 percent growth per year, after adjusting for inflation; at the same time, the nation averaged 3 percent growth. In the four years after Bush left office, as housing prices tumbled and recession set in, the nation averaged 0.3 percent growth. Florida averaged -2.4 percent.” [Washington Post, 6/16/15]

“He vetoed billions in government spending.”

Jeb Bush used the line-item veto, a tool unavailable to the President of the United States, to unilaterally cut state spending he didn’t like. “Bush came into office in 1999 vowing to use his line-item veto on state spending he didn’t like, and he followed through with a vengeance. […] We should note that if Bush wins the presidency, he likely won’t get to whack as much. A president doesn’t have a line-item veto and has to either accept or reject an entire piece of legislation.” [PolitiFact, 5/26/15]

“He cut taxes $19 billion…

Jeb Bush bragged about cutting taxes by $19 billion in Florida, when in reality at least $6 billion of those cuts were enacted by his brother at the federal level. “Bush regularly tells interviewers that as governor he cut state taxes by $19 billion. A review of state records by the publication Tax Analysts, however, found only $13 billion worth of cuts. The difference, according to PolitiFact Florida, an independent political fact-checking website, is that the campaign included what Floridians saved because of the elimination of the federal estate tax, which Bush’s brother, President George W. Bush, got through Congress in 2001.” [Bloomberg, 7/28/15]

Jeb Bush repealed Florida’s “intangibles tax” on stocks and investments. “The state’s intangibles tax on stocks and investments, worth about $131-million annually, has been eliminated starting in 2006-07; the budget includes money to provide merit pay for teachers; and it sets aside $390-million for Bush’s economic development initiatives.” [St. Petersburg Times, 5/26/06]

• The intangibles tax was “one of Florida’s only progressive sources of tax revenue; eliminating it primarily benefited the state’s wealthiest residents and made its tax system even more regressive.” “During his eight years as governor of Florida, Bush pushed through about $13 billion in tax cuts, a substantial portion of which went to the wealthiest Floridians. The most significant was his cut and eventual repeal of Florida’s intangibles tax, which amounted to more than three times the size of any other category of cuts enacted under his watch. This low-rate-tax on the value of residents’ intangible assets (such as stocks, bonds and accounts received) was one of Florida’s only progressive sources of tax revenue; eliminating it primarily benefited the state’s wealthiest residents and made its tax system even more regressive.” [Tax Justice Blog, 7/9/15]

St. Petersburg Times editorial: Under Jeb Bush, “for most Floridians, the state and local tax burden has become heavier still. It has been lightened only for the wealthiest.” “In his inaugural address four years ago, Gov. Jeb Bush complained about the ‘crushing weight’ of Florida taxes. He has prided himself on cutting taxes every session since then. But for most Floridians, the state and local tax burden has become heavier still. It has been lightened only for the wealthiest, who were taxed the least to begin with.” [St. Petersburg Times editorial, 1/12/03]

…balanced 8 budgets…

Jeb Bush, like all Florida governors, was constitutionally obligated to balance Florida’s budget every year. “Of course Jeb balanced the budget; that’s literally a constitutional requirement in Florida. Jeb could not legally submit or sign into law a budget that wasn’t balanced.” [Vox, 8/7/15]

…and shrank state government.”

Jeb Bush moored his budgets to “a bounty of new tax receipts” resulting from the housing bubble to offset his tax breaks. “Once a millionaire real estate developer, Gov. Jeb Bush is now profiting politically from Florida’s housing boom with his whopping $70.8 billion budget proposal that’s moored to a bounty of new tax receipts. Before becoming governor, Bush made his fortune buying and selling commercial projects in partnership with developer Armando Codina. Now, heading toward the exit in his eighth year as governor, Bush is polishing his political legacy by spending freely on schools, the environment and social programs, while still dishing out a record $1.5 billion in tax breaks. A look inside the numbers shows much of the black ink is rooted in Florida’s soil. Revenue from real-estate taxes will skyrocket to $3.5 billion this year — a remarkable 300 percent increase since Bush left the development business for the governor’s mansion in 1999.” [Orlando Sentinel, 2/5/06]

Under Jeb Bush, Florida’s local property taxes grew faster than personal income and inflation. “Property taxes. While Bush gained a reputation as a fierce tax-cutter, he and the GOP-controlled Legislature relied on growth in property values to pay for public schools. Property taxes have grown faster than personal income and inflation, according to information that Bush’s office presented to a tax reform committee the governor set up this past summer to make recommendations on what should be done.” [Miami Herald, 12/17/06]

Under Jeb Bush, the portion of Florida’s local tax burden determined by the state legislature “grew considerably.” “Unbeknownst to most Florida homeowners, a sizeable chunk of their property tax bills — at least a quarter of it in many cases — is dictated by the state Legislature. It is known as the ‘Required Local Effort,’ and under Gov. Bush that local tax burden grew considerably. Even as the actual tax rate decreased some years, people paid more for required local effort because their property values increased. When your governor embraces sending you a higher tax bill, is that a tax increase?” [Tampa Bay Times, 5/1/15]

“He took on unions and won with new accountability and over 200 new charter schools.”

FL Education Commissioner Tom Gallahger: Jeb Bush’s Department of Education failed “to assign leadership,” created “a lack of accountability,” and paved the way for “possible criminal activity” in his school choice program. “‘Overall, the Department of Education’s failure to assign leadership to this program . . . has created a lack of accountability and has put the success of these vital school choice programs at risk,’ Gallagher said in a letter to Phil Handy, chairman of the state Board of Education. He said the lack of state oversight paves the way for ‘potential abuse or possible criminal activity.’ Among his complaints: Some students are getting money from two voucher programs at the same time. Agencies that give out vouchers do not now have to demonstrate fiscal soundness. There often is no verification that a child receiving a voucher is attending school.” [Orlando Sentinel, 12/12/03]

• An executive at one of several private organizations designated around the state to distribute money collected from Jeb Bush’s corporate tax credit voucher program stole $268,125 in voucher money from the state. “An Ocala man was arrested Thursday on a charge of pocketing state money intended to pay the private-school tuition of poor children under one of Gov. Jeb Bush’s prized school-voucher programs. James Kirk Isenhour, 56, chairman of the Silver Archer Foundation, was charged with grand theft in the first degree and booked into the Marion County Jail. Prosecutors say he took $268,125 in voucher money during 2003 and spent it for other uses. The money was to have financed a year in private school for 75 students. Silver Archer is one of several private organizations designated around the state to distribute money collected from corporations to pay for private school tuition.” [Orlando Sentinel, 1/30/04]

• Officials at a Polk County school defrauded the state out of more than $200,000 in voucher money. “A Polk County Christian school accepted state voucher money for disabled children who didn’t attend the school, leading to seven arrests Tuesday, authorities said. Faith Christian Academy in Bartow also defrauded a voucher program in which corporations receive tax credits for providing private school scholarships to poor children, according to an affidavit filed by investigators. In addition, it took money from a federal free lunch program for more students than actually attended the school. The school’s officials defrauded the state and others out of more than $200,000, using some of it to purchase cars and real estate, said an affidavit investigators filed to obtain arrest warrants.” [Associated Press, 6/29/04]

• The state’s investigating attorney was surprised at how few controls the state had over its voucher money and said that taxpayer money was “being diverted to criminal enterprises.” “Jerry Hill, the state attorney for Polk County who conducted a seven-month investigation that ended Tuesday with fraud and racketeering charges against seven Christian school employees in Bartow, said he was surprised at how few controls the state had over its voucher money. He suggested that lawmakers develop ways to audit how taxpayer money is spent on vouchers. ‘I think to do otherwise means that education money is being diverted to criminal enterprises,’ he said Wednesday.” [Palm Beach Post, 7/1/04]

Jeb Bush “refused to require [voucher] programs to meet the same standards required of regular public schools.” “The problem remains that Gov. Bush’s education policy is gimmick-driven. He and the Legislature have created a plethora of voucher programs and eased the way for creation of record numbers of charter schools, but they have refused to require those programs to meet the same standards required of regular public schools.” [Palm Beach Post editorial, 9/19/05]

• Jeb Bush’s voucher programs did not require private schools receiving taxpayer dollars to be accredited by reputable accrediting groups. “Despite several high-profile cases of fraud and abuse in voucher schools, a new Senate Education Committee report says private schools getting state vouchers should not have to be accredited. The report, released before the spring session of the legislature, says it would require too much state oversight to monitor the accreditation status of the estimated 1,000 private schools that accept vouchers and that accreditation doesn’t necessarily equal a quality education program. […] The report also said that requiring accreditation would force many private schools out of the voucher programs, either because they can’t afford the accreditation process, or they can’t meet the standards of reputable accrediting groups. That would limit private-school choices for parents, which is a major tenet of Gov. Jeb Bush’s education reform effort.” [Palm Beach Post, 1/12/05]

• Petersburg Times: Jeb Bush “has so adamantly opposed standardized testing for voucher schools that he has no credible way to tell whether the voucher students are learning.” “He has so adamantly opposed standardized testing for voucher schools that he has no credible way to tell whether the voucher students are learning.” [St. Petersburg Times editorial, 5/3/06]

According to Jeb’s new television ad, he’s not a fan of “politicians and self-promoters”—he prefers to “deliver.” Unfortunately for Jeb, when you look at his record, the only thing he’s delivered in the ad is a bunch of phony claims about his record. Could it be that Jeb himself is the biggest politician and self-promoter of them all?

Jeb’s Claim: “19 billion in tax cuts”

FACT: Jeb Bush bragged about cutting taxes by $19 billion in Florida, when in reality at least $6 billion of those cuts were enacted by his brother at the federal level. ”Bush regularly tells interviewers that as governor he cut state taxes by $19 billion. A review of state records by the publication Tax Analysts, however, found only $13 billion worth of cuts. The difference, according to PolitiFact Florida, an independent political fact-checking website, is that the campaign included what Floridians saved because of the elimination of the federal estate tax, which Bush’s brother, President George W. Bush, got through Congress in 2001.” [Bloomberg, 7/28/15]

Jeb’s Claim: “Cut spending, balanced budgets”

FACT: Orlando Sentinel: Jeb Bush benefitted politically “from Florida’s housing boom with his whopping $70.8 billion budget proposal that’s moored to a bounty of new tax receipts.”  “Once a millionaire real estate developer, Gov. Jeb Bush is now profiting politically from Florida’s housing boom with his whopping $70.8 billion budget proposal that’s moored to a bounty of new tax receipts.” [Orlando Sentinel, 2/5/06]

Jeb’s Claim: “Led the nation in job creation”

FACT: Jeb Bush’s job creation rate “was the lowest of Florida’s past five governors.” “A strong state and national economy fattened Florida’s budget by 45 percent — from $49 billion when he took office to more than $71 billion this year. Bush credited his tax cuts for strong job growth, although the rate was the lowest of Florida’s past five governors.” [Miami Herald, 12/17/06]

FACT: Jeb Bush built Florida’s economy on the housing bubble, causing the state’s economic gains to be “wiped out in the four years after he left office, once the bubble burst.” “When you account for the role of housing, Bush’s economic record looks a lot more mixed. Almost all of the gains he talks up today, including three-fifths of the job creation, were wiped out in the four years after he left office, once the bubble burst.” [Washington Post, 6/16/15]

• After Jeb Bush left office, Florida averaged -2.4 percent growth, as opposed to the 0.3 percent national average. “The most striking stat, though, is growth. Under Bush, Florida indeed averaged 4.4 percent growth per year, after adjusting for inflation; at the same time, the nation averaged 3 percent growth. In the four years after Bush left office, as housing prices tumbled and recession set in, the nation averaged 0.3 percent growth. Florida averaged -2.4 percent.” [Washington Post, 6/16/15]

Jeb’s Lie:

“When I was governor of the state of Florida, I released all my emails. I’m writing an e-book about my emails. I think we need a lot more transparency in politics today.” – Jeb Bush, Transparency v. Secrecy, 8/27/15

Reality:

• Jeb said he received 550,000 emails on his private account during his eight years as governor.
• Jeb has only released 250,000 of these emails.
• Jeb was required to do this by Florida sunshine law.
• It took Jeb nearly eight years after his time in office to release these emails.

Jeb’s email lie isn’t the only misinformation in Jeb’s ad. Read below for a reality check.

Sent: Friday, August 14, 2015 1:30 PM

To: ‘jeb@jeb.org‘ <jeb@jeb.org>

Subject: Your hypocrisy on transparency

Governor – thank you for providing your email address so people can correspond with you.  As you can imagine, there is quite a lot that I and the organization I represent could take issue with concerning recent positions you’ve taken and statements you’ve made, such as: your revisionist history on Iraq (your brother broke it/gave rise to ISIS), your support for slashing Social Security benefits (on its birthday no less), your plan to phase out Medicare and your position that American workers are to blame for the economy and they should suck it up and work more hours.

All that being said, it’s your breathtaking hypocrisy on the issue of transparency that I’d like to draw your attention to.  We’ve noticed that as you have dropped in the polls (5% in Iowa?!) you’ve increased your attacks on Hillary Clinton over this very issue.  To start with, it should go without saying that what she did with respect to email was permissible and had precedent in the very department in which she worked.

However, notwithstanding the fact that the way Secretary Clinton handled her email was allowed, was legal and had been done similarly by previous Secretaries of State, you’ve continued to take issue with it. This is rather curious since virtually everything you have criticized her for is almost exactly how you handled your email as Governor of Florida, to wit:

You have criticized Secretary Clinton for maintaining her own server.  Sir, I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded that you too owned your own server from which you conducted official and personal business.

Broadly speaking, you have criticized Secretary Clinton on the issue of transparency and held yourself out as a paragon of virtue on the subject which is curious given that:

• You have said that you received 550,000 emails on your private email account, yet you’ve only released 250,000 of those emails.  How sir does that meet your standard of transparency?  Why not release them all?
• You’ve bragged about your level of transparency yet you left office in 2007 and you didn’t turn over your emails until almost 2015.  Why did it take youseven and a half years after leaving office for you to turn over your emails?
• Additionally, you were the Governor of the State of Florida so you must have known that the law requires you to turn over public records immediately upon leaving office, yet you didn’t turn over these emails for seven and a half years.  Can you explain then sir not only why it took so long but also how you were not in violation of Florida law by failing to turn these emails over immediately as required by statute?

Sir, we understand that in politics desperate times call for desperate measures and that being 17 points down to Donald Trump and running seventh in Iowa in not exactly what you had planned.  However, your attacks on this issue reek of hypocrisy given how you handled your own email when you were governor and since.  You’ve gotten mighty high on that horse sir – might be time to dismount.

Sincerely,

Brad Woodhouse, President
Correct the Record

“When I was governor of the state of Florida, I released all my emails. I’m writing an e-book about my emails. I think we need a lot more transparency in politics today.” – Jeb Bush, Iowa State Fair, 8/14/15

CHASER: 

• Jeb said he received 550,000 emails on his private account during his eight years as governor.
• Jeb has only released 250,000 of these emails.
• Jeb was required to do this by Florida sunshine law.
• It took Jeb nearly eight years after his time in office to release these emails.

WANT MORE?

Jeb Bush said he received 550,000 e-mails on his private account during his eight years as governor. “Jeb Bush learned plenty during his eight years as Florida governor, he told a crowd at a United Christian Giving fundraiser in Fort Myers on Thursday. The president’s little brother and former president’s son took few partisan shots, mostly entertaining the crowd with stories from ‘Mount Tallahassee.’ […] Bush said he got 550,000 e-mails on his private account and another 2.5 million on his public account during his eight years as governor. That helped him stay in touch with the people of the state even though the capital is far removed geographically from most of the population.” [Naples Daily News, 7/12/07]

Jeb Bush released his private emails from the state archive, but the files were “not complete.” “The files released from the state archive resulted in a stream of positive national press for the former governor — ‘Jeb Bush’s emails depict a hands-on governor,’ the Washington Post proclaimed. ‘Jeb answered immigrant pleas,’’ the Hill wrote. Polls now show that if Bush announces, he will be considered the front-runner. The Bush files, though enormous, are not complete, however.” [Tampa Bay Times, 1/3/15]

Jeb Bush said he would release 250,000 emails from his two terms in office. “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said on Sunday he will release 250,000 emails from his two terms in office and write an eBook outlining his governing philosophy. The moves have set the political sphere atwitter with speculation he’s closer than ever to deciding to run for president in 2016. In what appears to be a move of classic political procedure — getting ahead of the opposition — Bush told WPLG-TV that his intention is to promote transparency.” [CNN, 12/31/14]

Bush only turned over emails seven and a half years after his tenure as Governor ended despite a Florida statute requiring officials to turn over records “at the expiration of his or her term of office.” “It took Mr. Bush seven years after leaving office to comply fully with a Florida public records statute requiring him to turn over emails he sent and received as governor, according to records released Friday. Mr. Bush delivered the latest batch of 25,000 emails in May 2014, seven and a half years after leaving the Statehouse and just as he started to contemplate a potential run for the White House, according to a newly disclosed letter written by his lawyer. A Florida statute governing the preservation of public records requires elected officials, including the governor, to turn over records pertaining to official business ‘at the expiration of his or her term of office.’” [NY Times, 3/14/15]

Scott Walker is the last person who should dole out advice on transparency – not only was Walker a target in a criminal investigation into political corruption, he also helped draft a bill to make public records harder to access. Don’t forget, Walker’s office had a secret email system hidden from public record and his staffers were charged with illegal activity.

While Hillary Clinton continues to demonstrate unprecedented levels of transparency by pro-actively releasing her emails to the public, Scott Walker is proving the wisdom of those who have called him “more Nixonian than Nixon.”

Scott Walker

Open Records

The Nation: Scott Walker “has never been much for transparency.” “Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is caught up in a hometown controversy that is going from bad to worse. The governor—whom former White House counsel John Dean refers to as ‘more Nixonian than Nixon’—has never been much for transparency. But a botched attempt by his legislative allies to gut the state’s open-records law has blown up on Walker in a big way.” [The Nation, 7/8/15]

Chicago Tribune: Scott Walker “was involved in drafting dramatic changes to the state’s open records law that would have made it harder for the public to monitor how its government works.” “Gov. Scott Walker’s office was involved in drafting dramatic changes to the state’s open records law that would have made it harder for the public to monitor how its government works, a spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday. Spokeswoman Laurel Patrick’s statement came after numerous inquiries from the State Journal in recent days and after Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Tuesday that Walker’s office collaborated with Assembly and Senate leaders to draft the changes.” [Chicago Tribune, 7/8/15]

Walker declined to say if he thought the legislature should be subject to open records or meeting laws. “Walker also declined to say whether the Legislature should abide by the open records law or be subject to the meetings law, including party caucuses. Instead, he responded that he retains ‘all public records, including email, for public inspection upon request.’” [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/1/14]

The John Doe investigation revealed that a Walker campaign staffer urged the Milwaukee county staff to drag out an open records request from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Last November, the John Doe probe revealed that a Walker campaign staffer urged that Milwaukee County staff ‘drag out’ an open records request from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. One Wisconsin Now has suggested this is part of an ongoing pattern.” [Green Bay Press-Gazette, 3/16/13]

E-mails

Scott Walker announced he would not release emails from his first term in office following Jeb Bush’s email release. “Gov. Scott Walker won’t follow Jeb Bush’s lead by voluntarily releasing all of his emails from his first term in statewide office. ‘I don’t see any reason why to do that,’ Walker said at a Milwaukee press event on Wednesday. Earlier this week, Bush said he would make public some 250,000 emails from his two terms as Florida’s governor and publish a new e-book in the ‘interest of transparency.’ Bush made the announcement a day before, saying he will ‘actively explore the possibility of running for president.’” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/17/14]

Complaint: A ‘secret email system’ existed in County Executive’s office and was “routinely used by selected insiders within the Scott Walker administration” for county business as well as unofficial purposes such as campaigning. “The complaint reveals a ‘secret email system’ that was ‘routinely used by selected insiders within the Walker administration’ for county business as well as unofficial purposes such as campaigning.” [Journal Sentinel, 1/26/12]

• Investigators found boxes for two wireless routers in Scott Walker’s county executive office; packing labels with the boxes had deputy chief of staff Tim Russell’s name on them. “Investigators found boxes for two wireless routers in an armoire in Walker’s County Executive office. Packaging labels found with the boxes bore the name ‘Timothy Russell.’ The allegation is that Russell (who was Deputy Chief of Staff before becoming Housing Director) set up an unofficial networking system so that staffers could conduct campaign business on their personal laptops while their salary was being paid by the taxpayers. The secret email system was available for use by certain staff for both official and unofficial business.” [The Huffington Post, 1/30/12]

Investigators determined Darlene Wink and Kelley Rindfleisch were campaigning on county time

Two staffers in Scott Walker’s County Executive administration were charged with illegally doing extensive political work while being paid by taxpayers to do county jobs. “Two staffers who worked directly for Gov. Scott Walker while he was county executive were charged Thursday with illegally doing extensive political work while being paid by taxpayers to do county jobs. One of the two, Darlene Wink, cut a deal with prosecutors under which she agreed to provide information in a related investigation about the destruction of digital evidence and to aid in further prosecutions. This is the first indication that the multifaceted John Doe investigation may be pursuing charges of evidence tampering.” [Journal Sentinel, 1/26/12]

Criminal complaint: A Walker staffer told a friend shortly after taking the job with Walker that “half of what I’m doing is policy for the campaign.” “On Thursday, prosecutors charged Kelly Rindfleisch, deputy chief of staff to Walker in 2010, with four felony counts of misconduct in office for working for then-Rep. Brett Davis’ 2010 campaign for lieutenant governor while on the county clock. Davis, who lost in the Republican primary, is now Walker’s state Medicaid director. The complaint says that Rindfleisch told a friend in an Internet chat shortly after taking the job with Walker that ‘half of what I’m doing is policy for the campaign.’” [Journal Sentinel, 1/26/12]

A Walker staffer sent more 1,380 fundraising emails during work hours. “During work hours between February 2010 and early July 2010, it says, Rindfleisch sent more than 300 emails to Davis and 1,380 fundraising emails. The John Doe also turned up more than 1,000 emails between Rindfleisch and top staffers on Walker’s 2010 campaign during work hours over the same period.” [Journal Sentinel, 1/26/12]

While doing political work on taxpayer time, a Walker aide told a colleague: “I just am afraid of going to jail.” “Wink worked on campaign fundraisers, phone banks, Reagan Day dinners and Milwaukee County Republican Party matters while working in Walker’s office. In one 2009 chat with Timothy Russell, a longtime friend and fellow Walker aide, Wink asked how she could clear a document from her chat session. Russell told her it would disappear when she logged out. ‘I just am afraid of going to jail – ha! ha!’ Wink wrote in August 2009. Russell replied, ‘You wouldn’t, not for that.’” [Journal Sentinel, 1/26/12]

The John Doe investigation involved charges that aides in Scott Walker’s Milwaukee County Executive office were working to elect Brett Davis for lieutenant governor while collecting checks from the taxpayers. “When Rebecca Kleefisch ran for lieutenant governor in 2010, she actually beat Scott Walker’s favored candidate, Brett Davis, in the Republican primary. (Much of the current John Doe investigation involves charges that aides in Walker’s Milwaukee County executive office were working to elect Davis while collecting checks from the taxpayers.)” [Wisconsin State Journal, 5/27/12]

Public records laws were bypassed

The secret email system was hidden from public records officer. “The existence of the email system was a closely held secret, and it was not made known to the county employee responsible for gathering county emails in response to requests for information by the public, reporters and groups, the complaint said. The secret system used personal Internet email accounts.” [Journal Sentinel, 1/26/12]

The secret computer network was also used for official business, including records that should have been subject to public records laws. “Rindfleisch and Wink did campaign work on the unofficial network, the complaint says. The secret email system also was used for county business ‘which could have and which did include communications’ subject to the state’s open records statute, the complaint says.” [Journal Sentinel, 1/26/12]

An investigation found that Walker often comingled official and campaign business

Scott Walker and his top campaign and Milwaukee County aides were named as part of a team that routinely commingled political and official county business. “Gov. Scott Walker and his top campaign and Milwaukee County aides were named Monday as part of a team that routinely commingled political and official county business. The disclosures came during the sentencing of a former aide to Walker during his last year as Milwaukee County executive. Kelly M. Rindfleisch, 44, was sentenced by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Hansher to six months in jail and three years of probation on a single felony count of misconduct in office. The judge stayed the sentence pending Rindfleisch’s appeal to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals or the state Supreme Court. In a lengthy presentation during Rindfleisch’s sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf displayed numerous emails between Rindfleisch and key members of Walker’s campaign staff in which they discussed how to manage county government in 2010, while Walker was a candidate for governor. […] Landgraf said ‘The Campaign Group’ included Walker, Gilkes, campaign spokeswoman Jill Bader and campaign adviser R.J. Johnson. It also included several top county aides to Walker: Cindy Archer, who was county administration director; county chief of staff Tom Nardelli; spokeswoman Fran Mc-Laughlin; housing director Timothy Russell; and Rindfleisch.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/19/12]

• Prosecutor: The campaign group vetted news releases that were issued from Walker’s county office. “The Campaign Group vetted news releases that were issued from Walker’s county office, Landgraf said. They included messages about a federal disaster declaration the county was seeking after torrential rains in July 2010; news reports in the Journal Sentinel in August that year about patient sexual assaults at the county Mental Health Complex; and the acknowledgment by Darlene Wink, a county office assistant, of sending campaign related emails criticizing Barrett from Walker’s courthouse office.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/19/12]

• Prosecutor: E-mails showed that Scott Walker and his campaign directed county staffers to take official actions to boost walker’s candidacy. “Scott Walker and his gubernatorial campaign directed Milwaukee County staffers to take official actions in 2010 to boost Walker’s candidacy, including how to respond to a fatal incident at a county parking garage and requiring that press releases from the county executive’s office be reviewed by the campaign, according to emails released Tuesday. Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf presented evidence in court Monday that former Milwaukee County staffer Kelly Rindfleisch traded 3,486 emails with top Walker campaign staffers, including 2,216 during regular work hours between January and October 2010. At the time, Rindfleisch earned $59,560 a year from Milwaukee County as Walker’s deputy chief of staff.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 11/21/12]

Jeb Bush

Foundation for Florida’s Future

Did Not Consistently Publish Donors

1995: The Foundation for Florida’s Future declined to release a list of its donors. “Bush says the foundation is supported by contributions, but he declines to provide a list of the donors. When asked why, he says: ‘Because I didn’t advise them of it. I don’t think it’s fair to people after the fact to go public. They are good private citizens, doing what they think is right,’ Bush said.” [St. Petersburg Times, 7/24/95]

1998: The Foundation for Florida’s Future released a list of its donors. According to the St. Petersburg Times, “Bush spokesman Cory Tilley dismissed the MacKay challenge as a non-issue. Though not legally required, the foundation’s annual report lists everyone who gave to the foundation, including the contribution range they fell within. All that’s missing is the exact amounts given by each contributor.” [St. Petersburg Times, 5/8/98]

2006: The Foundation for Florida’s Future vowed to publicly disclose its donors. “It’s unclear precisely what the foundation, a non-profit issue advocacy group, will spend the money on. But there will be one distinct difference between his revamped foundation and the version he ran after losing his first race for governor in 1994: This time donors will be fully disclosed.” [Tampa Bay Times, 2/7/06]

2007: The Foundation for Florida’s Future’s donors were “no longer publicly disclosed online.” According to the Miami Herald, “Friends and former staff guard Bush’s privacy as aggressively as they once touted his agenda. Donations to his educational think tank, the Foundation for Florida’s Future, are no longer publicly disclosed online. The group’s executive director declined to respond to e-mails and phone calls inquiring about the governor’s activities.” [Miami Herald, 4/15/07]

2011: The Foundation for Florida’s Future’s “does not disclose donors.” According to Florida Trend, “Foundation For Florida’s Future (Tallahassee) 2011 Revenue: $291,772 Key Personnel: Former Gov. Jeb Bush and Patricia Levesque. Bush is chairman, and Levesque, who served as Bush’s deputy chief of staff, is executive director. Funding Sources: The group does not disclose donors. ” [Florida Trend, 10/1/13]

2015: The Foundation for Florida’s Future only listed donations made between 2012 and 2014 until the Associated Press requested its full list. “Until recently, the Foundation for Excellence in Education revealed the names of its donors only from 2012 to 2014. In response to an Associated Press request seeking the full list dating to 2007, the foundation released nearly every donor during its existence, encompassing 428 contributions, with just one or two of the 187 donors still remaining anonymous.” [Associated Press, 7/1/15]

Foundation for Excellence in Education

FEE Allegedly Scrubbed its Website of Corporate Donors after Receiving Unfavorable Press

Sun-Sentinel’s Stephen Goldstein: The Foundation for Excellence in Education removed a list of its corporate donors “after embarrassing articles about how the foundations benefit contributors” were published. “After embarrassing articles about how the foundations benefit contributors, the names of corporate donors were scrubbed from the website of the Foundation for Excellence. The Foundation for Florida’s Future is so relentless that a couple of years ago, it pushed to amend the state Constitution so religious schools could receive taxpayer dollars. Fortunately, Florida voters nixed it. Both foundations should stop hiding behind their IRS charitable exemptions and reveal who their donors are, how much they contribute and how their lobbying may benefit them. If they really believe in quality education, they ought to prove it by telling the truth.” [Stephen Goldstein, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 6/9/13]

• The Foundation for Excellence in Education’s website listed its donors before the publication of these articles, removed the list immediately after their publication, and replaced it with an incomplete list months later. A review of the Foundation for Excellence in Education’s website through the Internet Archive shows that in August 2012, before the publication of “embarrassing articles about how the foundations benefit contributors,” a list of the foundations donors could be found on the website. As of February 2013, after the publication of the critical articles, the website no longer had any page with foundation donors. By June 2013, a very limited list of donors made up only of other foundations was listed on the website. [Wayback Machine, Foundation for Excellence in Education Meet The Donors Page, archived 8/15/12; Wayback Machine, Foundation for Excellence in Education, archived 2/25/13; Wayback Machine, Foundation for Excellence in Education Meet Our Donors Page, archived 6/4/13]

Received Nearly $1 Million in Anonymous Donations

2012-14: The Foundation for Excellence in Education received 14 anonymous donations worth up to almost $1 million. According to the Foundation for Excellence in Education, in 2012, the foundation received 9 anonymous donations worth between $205,003 and $550,000. In 2013, the foundation received 5 anonymous donations worth between $160,003 and $400,000. In total, from 2012 to 2014, the foundation received between $365,006 and $950,000 in 14 anonymous donations. [Foundation for Excellence in Education, Accessed 4/23/15]

Avoiding Lobbying Restrictions

The Foundation for Excellence in Education avoided restrictions on its lobbyists giving gifts to elected officials by registering them with Jeb Bush’s other foundation. “Among the activities of Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education that have come in for criticism: It pays for state officials and legislators to go to conferences where they meet with the company’s donors, including officials of corporations who stand to gain from the policymakers’ decisions. […] Normally, it’s illegal for lobbyists or lobbying organizations to provide benefits such as free trips to Florida legislators or top executive branch officials. But the Foundation for Excellence in Education escapes that prohibition because lobbyists on its staff are registered to another, closely related Bush foundation – even though the two share key staff members and even their Tallahassee address.” [Tampa Tribune, 3/3/13 (via archive.org)]

George Bush Presidential Library Foundation

Jeb Bush led the Foundation from 1996 to 1998, and remains on its Board of Directors 

1996: Jeb Bush was President of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. “The Japanese government has given Texas A&M University a $ 1.5 million gift for its George Bush Presidential Library.  Japanese Consul-General Shintaro Sasaki of Houston formally presented the gift Monday to Bush’s son, Jeb, president of the Bush Library Foundation.” [Houston Chronicle, 4/25/95]

1997: Jeb Bush was President of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. “Jeb Bush, another of the ex-president’s sons, is president of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation that raised more than $ 40 million for the project.” [Houston Chronicle, 11/6/97]

1998: Jeb Bush was head of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. “Last fall, shortly before Jeb Bush kicked off his campaign, he appeared with his dad in College Station, Texas, when he emceed the opening of the Bush presidential library. Jeb heads the library foundation.” [St. Petersburg Times, 5/17/98]

2001: Jeb Bush was no longer listed as President of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. [George Bush Presidential Library Foundation official website, 3/7/01 (via archive.org)]

2015: Jeb Bush remained on the board of directors of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. [George Bush Presidential Library Foundation official website, accessed 5/18/15]

Disclosure of Donors

The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation’s “website provides no information regarding donors.” “The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation, which was set up in 1991 to fund the museum and library for former President George H.W. Bush at Texas A&M University, raises less than $3 million a year these days and, as of 2013, had $47 million in assets. Its website provides no information regarding donors, and Kristin King, the foundation’s director of communications, did not respond to repeated calls and emails requesting information about its donor disclosure policies. An internet search turned up no instances of this foundation releasing the names of its backers.” [Mother Jones, 4/30/15]

Foreign Donations

The George Bush Presidential Library received $6 million from foreign governments. “Texas A&M University is contributing $ 43 million, mostly from state funds, according to figures provided by the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. The project also includes the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. Private fund raising by the presidential foundation has generated $ 34 million from 300 donors, said Don Wilson, executive director of the presidential library. […] Foreign contributions include $ 2 million each from the nations of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and $ 1 million each from the governments of Taiwan and Japan.” [Dallas Morning News, 5/6/96]

The George W. Bush Foundation

Disclosure of Donors

The George W. Bush Foundation “does not have a policy of full disclosure for its donors.” “The George W. Bush Foundation raised $361.8 million between 2010 and 2013, according to its latest tax filing. But it does not have a policy of full disclosure for its donors. According to Hannah Abney, the communications director for the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the names of the foundation’s major donors are etched into three ‘donor walls’ in the Dallas-based Bush Center at Southern Methodist University, and the ‘Freedom Registry,’ located at the entrance to the George W. Bush museum and library, lists donors who have contributed more than $20. No specific donation amounts are noted, and there’s a catch: Any donor who wishes to remain anonymous is not named. Moreover, the only way to see the list of nonanonymous donors is to visit the actual museum and look at the walls and the registry. The George W. Bush Foundation does not make its list available in any other form or in any other place.” [Mother Jones, 4/30/15]

Open Records

Jeb Bush “made it extremely difficult for anyone to get possession of a public record from his office, frequently stalling for months.” According to an op-ed by Lucy Morgan in the St. Petersburg Times, “Bush tangled with reporters from the minute he was elected, refusing at first to release copies of transition records. Once in office, Bush made it extremely difficult for anyone to get possession of a public record from his office, frequently stalling for months before even routine documents were produced. Crist’s staff routinely released transition records, including requests from people seeking jobs. Bush waited until inaugural events were long over before releasing a list of who made contributions to pay for them. Crist released the names of contributors as the checks came in, posting them on the transition Web site.” [Morgan, St. Petersburg Times, 1/5/07]

2006 St. Petersburg Times editorial: “Some state agencies during Gov. Jeb Bush’s tenure have not been as responsive as they should be” about making records public. “Gov.-elect Charlie Crist has demonstrated this week that his commitment to open government and well-run elections, two areas where Florida could stand some improvement, extends well beyond political rhetoric. His creation of the Office of Open Government and his appointment of Pasco Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning as secretary of state are excellent steps toward reasserting the importance of two core values essential to democracy. Some state agencies during Gov. Jeb Bush’s tenure have not been as responsive as they should be about providing the public with records and basic information that should not be secret. Bush’s office has been known to keep close daily track of which reporters are requesting what information from which state agency, and at times the approach in Tallahassee has been to stall as long as possible and then release records grudgingly. The Legislature, meanwhile, has been busy carving out as many exemptions to the public records laws as possible.” [Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 12/15/06]

2006 St. Petersburg Times editorial: Gov. Jeb Bush’s office “has been known to keep close daily track of which reporters are requesting what information from which state agency.” “Some state agencies during Gov. Jeb Bush’s tenure have not been as responsive as they should be about providing the public with records and basic information that should not be secret. Bush’s office has been known to keep close daily track of which reporters are requesting what information from which state agency, and at times the approach in Tallahassee has been to stall as long as possible and then release records grudgingly.” [Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 12/15/06]

• 2006 St. Petersburg Times editorial: Bush’s administration would, at times, “stall as long as possible” in response to the requests “and then release records grudgingly.” “Some state agencies during Gov. Jeb Bush’s tenure have not been as responsive as they should be about providing the public with records and basic information that should not be secret. Bush’s office has been known to keep close daily track of which reporters are requesting what information from which state agency, and at times the approach in Tallahassee has been to stall as long as possible and then release records grudgingly.” [Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 12/15/06]

St. Petersburg Times editorial: Gov. Jeb Bush’s office was “the only state agency that failed to comply” with the Florida public records law in a 2004 audit. “Four out of 10 government agencies failed to fully comply with the public records law in a recent audit conducted by 30 Florida newspapers, including the St. Petersburg Times. Those in charge of the documents used a variety of tactics to deny or delay the requests, by requiring that they be in writing, forcing the people asking for documents to identify themselves or, in one case, attempting to intimidate the person asking to see a record. […] Document caretakers frequently required the volunteers to identify themselves, state a purpose or make the request in writing (none of which is appropriate under the law). A few government officials attempted to intimidate those seeking a public record. Broward County administrator Roger Desjarlais threatened the person asking to see his office e-mails by saying, ‘I can make your life very difficult.’ Even Gov. Jeb Bush’s office – the only state agency that failed to comply with the law – required a form to be filled out before acceding to a public records request.” [Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 2/10/04]

Gov. Jeb Bush met privately with top state officials to discuss tax cuts, Senate confirmations, and the state budget on his first full day in office, refusing to let reporters listen in. “On his first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush met with the two most powerful public officials in Florida’s Legislature, but the meetings weren’t public. Bush’s staff refused to let reporters in to listen as he chatted with House Speaker John Thrasher and Senate President Toni Jennings. The governor and his aides said the sessions were little more than ‘courtesy calls,’ but later they acknowledged they discussed tax cuts, Senate confirmation of appointments and the state’s multibillion-dollar budget. Florida’s Constitution requires meetings between the state’s top officials, where ‘pending legislation’ or ‘formal legislation’ is discussed, to be open.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]

• The Florida Constitution requires that meetings between top state officials over “pending legislation” or “formal legislation” be open. “On his first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush met with the two most powerful public officials in Florida’s Legislature, but the meetings weren’t public. Bush’s staff refused to let reporters in to listen as he chatted with House Speaker John Thrasher and Senate President Toni Jennings. The governor and his aides said the sessions were little more than ‘courtesy calls,’ but later they acknowledged they discussed tax cuts, Senate confirmation of appointments and the state’s multibillion-dollar budget. Florida’s Constitution requires meetings between the state’s top officials, where ‘pending legislation’ or ‘formal legislation’ is discussed, to be open.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]

• Bush initially said that the meetings were “courtesy calls,” only later admitting that government business was discussed. “On his first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush met with the two most powerful public officials in Florida’s Legislature, but the meetings weren’t public. Bush’s staff refused to let reporters in to listen as he chatted with House Speaker John Thrasher and Senate President Toni Jennings. The governor and his aides said the sessions were little more than ‘courtesy calls,’ but later they acknowledged they discussed tax cuts, Senate confirmation of appointments and the state’s multibillion-dollar budget. Florida’s Constitution requires meetings between the state’s top officials, where ‘pending legislation’ or ‘formal legislation’ is discussed, to be open.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]

Jeb Bush met privately with top legislative leaders and representatives of a “significant business” the night before the Florida Legislature opened its 2006 session. “The night before the Florida Legislature opened its 2006 session, Gov. Jeb Bush met privately with top legislative leaders and representatives of a ‘significant business’ that is considering moving to the state, the Governor’s Office acknowledged Tuesday.” [Orlando Sentinel, 3/8/06]

• Jeb Bush’s spokesman refused to discuss the meeting, “citing provisions that exempt economic-development talks from the state’s public-records law.” “Also at the dinner were Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings; Senate President-designate Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie; House Majority Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando; and House Budget Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, Schweiss said. Schweiss would not provide any details about the meeting or the business, citing provisions that exempt economic-development talks from the state’s public-records law.” [Orlando Sentinel, 3/8/06]

• Jeb Bush’s spokesman insisted that Bush’s meeting with legislators and business representatives did not involve “any legislation.” “Florida’s Constitution requires that any meeting between the governor, Senate president and House speaker — or between three or more legislators — that concerns pending legislative action be open to the public. But Schweiss insisted the discussions did not involve any imminent action by the Legislature. ‘This isn’t something that would require any legislation,’ Schweiss said. ‘This is a business that wanted to meet with legislative leaders also.’” [Orlando Sentinel, 3/8/06]

Gubernatorial Transition

After winning the gubernatorial election, Jeb Bush claimed that his transition materials were not subject to public records laws because he was still a private citizen. “Bush, who had never held elected office until he was sworn in Tuesday, must get used to working under a microscope. Gone are the campaign days, when he could strategize with his political team and orchestrate events for the cameras. He tussled with some reporters soon after winning the election, claiming that his transition work was not subject to public records laws because he was still a private citizen. At the time, he promised things would be different once he took office, saying he intends to be more open than past governors.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]

Schedules and Travel

Jeb Bush “refused to produce copies of his daily calendar – a public record under Florida law.” According to an op-ed by Lucy Morgan in the St. Petersburg Times, “The contrast couldn’t be more striking. On his first full day in office, Gov. Charlie Crist invited reporters into his private office and signed his very first executive order creating an Office of Open Government. Eight years ago on his very first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush refused to produce copies of his daily calendar – a public record under Florida law. When pressed, his staff released a calendar that said ‘office hours,’ omitting the customary names of those who might be on the schedule to meet with the governor.” [Morgan, St. Petersburg Times, 1/5/07]

Marco Rubio

E-Mails

Marco Rubio used a personal email account to “vent” about Republicans to reporters. “As Marco Rubio’s time as House speaker dwindles, he finds himself double teamed by the Senate and Gov. Charlie Crist. Over the weekend, he decided to vent. After the House devolved into partisan chaos over a decision by Rubio’s team to block Democratic debate on an education bill, Rubio dashed off a series of e mails to St. Petersburg Times reporters on his personal e mail account. He freely offered opinions, laying out each chamber’s top priorities, deriding the governor’s last minute plan to cut gas taxes and criticizing a tax commission’s hesitance to cap government tax revenues.” [St. Petersburg Times, 4/23/08]

• A Rubio spokesperson claimed the emails were deleted after media outlets requested copies. “Public or private? After House Speaker Marco Rubio’s remarks appeared Wednesday on the St. Petersburg Times’ Web site, tampabay.com, the Orlando Sentinel requested copies of Rubio’s e mails. House spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin said Rubio had deleted them from his personal account.” [St. Petersburg Times, 4/24/08]

• St. Petersburg Times: “The Times has encountered a similar response several times over the past year when asking for e-mails from Rubio’s personal account.” “The Times has encountered a similar response several times over the past year when asking for e mails from Rubio’s personal account. The Sentinel quoted the First Amendment Foundation’s Barbara Petersen, a public records expert, as saying that e mails relating to public business are public records, regardless of whether they were sent from a personal e mail account.” [St. Petersburg Times, 4/24/08]

Chris Christie

Open Records

Chris Christie’s administration paid upwards of $441,000 in legal fees fighting open records requests. “When a judge determines that the state withheld records illegally—which happens frequently—her group wins legal fees. As of September 2014, Christie’s administration had paid $441,000 to North Jersey Media Group and other media outlets for records. And that doesn’t count the cost of government lawyers’ time.” [Mother Jones, 2/4/15]

Chris Christie’s administration “waged costly court battles” rather than release records relating to the Bridgegate scandal. “On his first day as governor of New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie promised ‘a new era of accountability and transparency.’ But five years later, local reporters and watchdog groups accuse Christie’s administration of making unprecedented efforts to keep public records a secret. Stonewalled by the Christie administration, media outlets have been forced to sue to obtain even routinely disclosed information, such as payroll data. Rather than release documents connected to the George Washington Bridge scandal, pay-to-play allegations, possible ethics violations, and the out-of-state jaunts Christie has made while weighing a run for president, Christie’s office and several state agencies have waged costly court battles.” [Mother Jones, 2/4/15]

Chris Christie’s administration fought more than 23 open-records requests in court simultaneously. “As the 2016 presidential primary race draws closer, and Christie considers jumping in, his administration is fighting 23 different open-records requests in court.” [Mother Jones, 2/4/15]

Chris Christie’s open records stonewalling was possibly “the biggest public-records bottleneck since the state’s Open Public Records Act became law in 2002.” “The accumulation of cases may be the biggest public-records bottleneck since the state’s Open Public Records Act became law in 2002. State officials have declined requests from the media, members of the public and government watchdogs for a variety of reasons, including the threat of terrorism, overly vague language and the need to shield the governor from unnecessary breaches of his privacy.” [Record, 8/12/14]

Schedules and Travel

Chris Christie faced two lawsuits for records regarding his out of state travel. “Last year, New Jersey Watchdog, a conservative news site, demanded to know who picked up the tab for more than 60 unofficial trips Christie took out of state beginning in 2012. Christie’s office denied its request, and a judge tossed Watchdog’s resulting lawsuit in July for being too broad. In a separate request, New Jersey Watchdog asked for records detailing Christie’s out-of-state air travel expenses. That request also went to court, and the judge ordered the governor’s office to release some travel documents. The records showed the state reimbursing an unknown third party thousands of dollars for Christie’s trip to the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans.” [Mother Jones, 2/4/15]

• Two media organizations sued Chris Christie for records indicating whether taxpayers paid his travel costs to out-of-state Republican fundraisers. “Because Christie’s travel is connected to his fundraising work as the Republican Governors Association chair, the RGA probably paid for many of his trips. But the Record, one of Jersey’s largest newspapers, and WNYC, a radio station, requested documents indicating whether taxpayers shouldered any of Christie’s travel costs—such as overtime for the security detail that always accompanies the governor—while he raised cash for the GOP. Christie’s office sent WNYC ‘a document so heavily redacted as to be all but meaningless,’ says Laura Walker, the president of New York Public Radio, which owns WNYC. The outlet is suing for unredacted files. The Record also went to court for the documents, and the state and the newspaper are trying to reach a settlement.” [Mother Jones, 2/4/15]

Budgets and Taxes

Chris Christie’s administration removed property tax information from a state website after media reported that average property taxes had increased during his tenure. “The state Assembly will vote Monday on a bill from Democrats requiring the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs to post on its Internet web page a full summary of property tax data for each calendar year. The information already is collected by the DCA and it had been posted. But in the spring, when the Asbury Park Press and other media organizations reported on the growth of net property taxes during the Christie years, the department deleted the average homestead rebate and average net property taxes columns from the tax tables for 2008 through 2012. The Republican governor has championed caps on tax increases, which helped stabilize raw property tax bills, but relief programs have been weakened, thus adding to statewide tax average hikes.” [Asbury Park Press, 9/28/14]

• Times of Trenton editorial: Chris Christie’s administration took down property tax information from a state website “to discourage reporters” from comparing Christie’s record to his predecessors. “The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee advanced a bill this week that would require the Christie administration to restore the missing stats: namely, town-by-town average residential property tax bills, the municipality’s average homestead credit payment, and the net average property tax bill after the credit is applied. The bipartisan committee approved the measure by a vote of 9-1, with three abstentions. A similar measure passed the Assembly in September by a vote of 73-0. But why did the information vanish in the first place? Anyone with an ounce of brains has to conclude that the move was orchestrated to discourage reporters (and other savvy citizens) from comparing the increase in average net property taxes – that is, property taxes minus rebates – under Gov. Chris Christie and his predecessor.” [Editorial – Times of Trenton, 12/11/14]

Chris Christie’s administration stopped releasing monthly comparisons between actual and forecast revenue after two Wall Street agencies lowered New Jersey’s credit rating. “The administration this month also tightened information coming out of the Treasury Department, which stopped releasing monthly cash comparisons between how much the state has raised and how much the administration had forecast. The reporting change came after two Wall Street agencies lowered the state’s credit rating and flagged inaccurate revenue forecasts.” [Asbury Park Press, 9/28/14]

Transparency Ratings 

The Chris Christie administration was given a “C+” government transparency grade by New Jersey PIRG in 2014. “The administration of Gov. Chris Christie and the state Legislature received a grade of C+ today for their ‘middling effort’ to improve public disclosure of the spending of taxpayer dollars, particularly for its large economic incentive programs. The annual assessment, prepared by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, said the state was 30th in the nation in terms of spending transparency, worse than New York (13th) and Pennsylvania (24th), but better than Delaware (40th). ‘The governor should set his sights high and make New Jersey a leader in open government,’ said Jennifer Kim, the advocacy group’s state director. ‘With all the controversy that New Jersey has seen recently, we should be shooting for an ‘A’.’” [Star-Ledger, 4/8/14]

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group downgraded New Jersey’s transparency rating under Chris Christie to a “C.” “Many states across the nation are improving government spending transparency at a faster rate than New Jersey and the Christie administration should do more to keep pace, according to a new report issued today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The organization evaluated 48 states with transparency websites and assigned New Jersey the grade of ‘C’, down from a ‘C+’. Top grades went to Texas, Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Oklahoma. ‘New Jersey’s falling score does not mean spending has become less transparent,’ said Jen Kim, state director of NJPIRG, state in a statement. ‘It means other states are improving faster.’” [Star-Ledger, 3/26/13]

E-mails

Chris Christie administration emails and texts released during the Bridgegate investigation “revealed…that state officials use personal e-mail accounts and cell phones to communicate.” “The thousands of e-mails and texts released as part of the investigation into the September lane closures on the bridge revealed what many open public records advocates have long suspected: that state officials use personal e-mail accounts and cell phones to communicate.” [Star-Ledger, 1/13/14]

The ACLU called on Chris Christie to require all state employees to use state email for business. “The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today called on Gov. Chris Christie and the state attorney general to require all public employees to use government e-mail accounts and cell phones to conduct official business, in response to the unfolding George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal. The group said in a letter that the release of thousands of pages of e-mails and text message Friday related to the scandal showed government employees are attempting to circumvent the state Open Public Records Act by using personal accounts to discuss official matters.”[Star-Ledger, 1/13/14]

The ACLU believed that Christie administration officials “could be attempting to circumvent the state open public records act by using personal accounts to discuss business.” “In a letter to Gov. Chris Christie, the state attorney general and several state lawmakers, the ACLU said the communications showed employees could be attempting to circumvent the state Open Public Records Act by using personal accounts to discuss business.” [Star-Ledger, 1/13/14]

Regina Egea Deleted Text Messages Between Her And Christie

A legislative report showed that there were 12 text messages exchanged between Chris Christie and Regina Egea on day the Port Authority started to question the Christie administration’s explanation for lane closures. “Contradicting sworn testimony and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s repeated accounts that he barely paid attention last fall to the burgeoning scandal surrounding politically-motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, a new report shows there were 12 text messages exchanged between the Governor and a top aide during an explosive day of testimony a year ago. That was the day that top officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey began to dismantle key elements of the Christie administration’s official explanation of events — that the lane closures were a traffic study gone awry. AT&T did not release the content of the texts, and it’s not unusual that the Governor and the aide would have been exchanging messages that day with the aide, Regina Egea, his incoming chief of staff and head of his authorities unit, who was monitoring the testimony. But  their previous denials raises the question of what other communications were deleted as the scandal unfolded.” [WNYC, 12/5/14]

• Egea said the texts were not substantive and that she did not know when she deleted the texts. “In Egea’s own testimony last summer, the new report notes, she referred to a single text she sent that day as ‘not at all substantive.’ She said she ‘couldn’t recall’ a response from the governor. Egea acknowledged deleting the text, though she couldn’t say when.” [WNYC, 12/5/14]

• Christie told friends he texts instead of emails because text messages are harder to trace. “The governor has told allies that he had learned when he was the United States attorney for New Jersey to communicate by text rather than email, because text messages are harder to trace. (Email can remain on servers even after being deleted; cellphone carriers vary in how long they preserve deleted texts.)” [New York Times, 8/27/14]

• Regina Egea testified that she deleted text messages between her and Christie about the lane closings. “Gov. Chris Christie’s designated future chief of staff, Regina Egea, testified that she texted the governor about the lane closings in December, after testimony in a hearing that day disputed his administration’s assertion that the closings were part of a traffic study. But she said she deleted the texts.” [New York Times, 7/17/14]

Rick Perry

Open Records

Rick Perry “withheld information in response to some 100 open-records requests.” “Over the past decade, the Perry administration has withheld information in response to some 100 open-records requests, instead seeking review by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/28/11]

Rick Perry “adopted policies that shroud his own office in a purposeful opaqueness that confounds prying reporters – or any member of the public questioning his policies.” “Now, as Gov. Rick Perry embarks on a presidential campaign, it is unlikely the public will access records that provide many revealing details about his decade-long tenure as governor. While Perry extols open government – most recently challenging Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to ‘open the books’ of the nation’s central bank – he has adopted policies that shroud his own office in a purposeful opaqueness that confounds prying reporters – or any member of the public questioning his policies.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/28/11]

Rick Perry’s administration “acknowledged it failed to meet legal deadlines for responding to the requests, or otherwise delayed in violation of well-established procedures outlined in the Texas Public Information Act.” “In two cases in the past year, Perry’s office acknowledged it failed to meet legal deadlines for responding to the requests, or otherwise delayed in violation of well-established procedures outlined in the Texas Public Information Act. Most of the withheld documents involved contracts, bidding and oversight of programs in which state money flows to entrepreneurs, privately held companies and universities from Perry’s two economic development funds, the Emerging Technology Fund and the Texas Enterprise Fund. In some cases, the requests involve entities headed by Perry campaign donors and political appointees. Perry also chose to withhold information when third parties complained they would release proprietary information or violate trade secrets.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/28/11]

Executions

Rick Perry refused to release information relating to a clemency request by a man executed for capital murder. “The Houston Chronicle has a lawsuit pending regarding Perry’s decision on a clemency request in 2004 by Cameron Todd Willingham, whose capital murder conviction stirred debate over the science of arson investigations. Perry refused the newspaper’s request to release his staff’s analysis or comments about Willingham’s request for clemency, which raised new evidence. Willingham was executed Feb. 17, 2004.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/28/11]

State Contracts

Rick Perry’s administration withheld documents involving “contracts, bidding and oversight of programs in which state money flows to entrepreneurs, privately held companies and universities.” “Most of the withheld documents involved contracts, bidding and oversight of programs in which state money flows to entrepreneurs, privately held companies and universities from Perry’s two economic development funds, the Emerging Technology Fund and the Texas Enterprise Fund. In some cases, the requests involve entities headed by Perry campaign donors and political appointees. Perry also chose to withhold information when third parties complained they would release proprietary information or violate trade secrets. Among the information withheld from public view were communications between Amazon and the governor and his staff concerning the company’s recent dispute with the state of Texas over a $269 million sales tax bill. He has declined to release staff notes and emails relating to the Emerging Technology Fund and records relating to appointments to the advisory committee that oversees its grant applications. He also withheld emails and telephone logs relating to a $4.5 million Emerging Technology Fund grant awarded to Convergen Life Sciences, a company owned by campaign contributor David G. Nance.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/28/11]

Schedules and Travel

Rick Perry barred “the public from viewing details of his travel, his daily schedule and most of his emails.” “He has been governor longer than anyone in Texas history, but there is a lot the public does not know about Rick Perry. Where does he go each day, and with whom does he talk? What is discussed when he meets with top state agency executives? How does he evaluate a clemency request from a death row inmate? Or an application for a grant from his Emerging Technology Fund? What opinions are expressed to him through email and how does he respond? […] Those are just some of the questions left largely unanswered by Perry’s decisions to bar the public from viewing details of his travel, his daily schedule and most of his emails.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/28/11]

Rick Perry “leaned on lawmakers to include language in a school finance bill passed in the Legislature’s special session that would keep secret for 18 months the travel vouchers of his security team.” “Perry leaned on lawmakers to include language in a school finance bill passed in the Legislature’s special session that would keep secret for 18 months the travel vouchers of his security team. Until then, the public would be able to view only summary reports that disclose a trip’s destination, but not specific businesses visited or the names of family members accompanying the governor.” [Houston Chronicle, 8/28/11]

Rick Perry “fought for years to keep even mundane details of his schedule, spending and decision-making away from reporters and the public.” “Gov. Rick Perry’s straight talk may have made him an instant star of the Republican presidential field, but even some of his supporters say his frank one-liners don’t reflect his governing style in Texas, where Perry has been criticized as one of the most secretive governors in the country. At home, Perry has fought for years to keep even mundane details of his schedule, spending and decision-making away from reporters and the public. He faces pending lawsuits over his office’s refusal to release travel records and a clemency review for a since-executed inmate. He’s under pressure from open government advocates to release his full schedule. And in response to a once-lonely quest by a Wisconsin blogger, Perry’s office has temporarily stopped its practice of deleting emails after a week.” [Politico, 9/15/11]

Campaign Finance

Rick Perry “vetoed a ‘dark money’ bill that would have required greater campaign finance disclosure.” “It’s true that before he was governor, the state didn’t put much spending data online, but that’s partly because he became governor in 2000, well before most Americans had computers in their pockets. And in pursuing financial transparency, Perry has seemingly been more concerned about efficiency than ethics. When he has touted transparency as an ethical imperative, it has seemed political, as in 2009, when he issued an executive order commanding strict accounting standards for the federal funds that Texas was due to receive under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. And then, at times, he has set transparency aside altogether, as last year, when he vetoed a ‘dark money’ bill that would have required greater campaign finance disclosure.” [Texas Monthly, July 2014]

Rick Perry settled an ethics complaint “that accused his campaign of hiding how hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions were spent.” “And late last week, his team quietly finalized the settlement of an ethics complaint that accused his campaign of hiding how hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions were spent at his taxpayer-funded mansion on flowers, food, drinks and party supplies.” [Politico, 9/15/11]

Mike Huckabee

Destroyed Government Hard Drives

Mike Huckabee “destroyed government-owned hard drives as he left office,” and was accused of violating state law.  “A lawsuit was filed Thursday against former Gov. Mike Huckabee that accuses the Republican presidential hopeful of breaking state law when his administration destroyed government-owned hard drives as he left office in January. Jim Parsons of Bella Vista filed the lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court accusing Huckabee of violating the state’s Freedom of Information Act and a state law prohibiting damaging a computer without authorization.” [Associated Press, 7/27/07]

• A lawsuit against Mike Huckabee asked the court to “send a message that destroying public records is not the standard operating procedure.” “The state’s Ethics Commission has previously dismissed two complaints that Parsons, a self-described ‘gadfly,’ has filed against Huckabee over the hard drives’ destruction. The lawsuit, described in the filing as a ‘citizen complaint,’ asks the court to ‘send a message that destroying public records is not the standard operating procedure’ of elected officials when they leave office.” [Associated Press, 7/27/07]

Though Jeb! touts the importance of transparency frequently as a presidential candidate, he has a long history in Florida, as reported over the past decade by Florida press, of not being as transparent as he would like folks to believe. Jeb’s newfound interest in “transparency” is nothing more than a failed attempt to obscure his own poor record.

JEB BUSH’S POOR RECORD ON TRANSPARENCY

Jeb Bush used a private email account and hand selected emails to disclose

Jeb Bush was required under Florida law to release all e-mails related to his time in office. “Bush rebuffed such criticism during an event in New Hampshire on Friday. ‘I’m not surprised that the Clinton operatives would suggest this. It’s kind of standard operating procedure,’ he told reporters, referring to Democratic charges that his e-mail situation was no different than Clinton’s. He added later that he was ‘totally transparent. I have a BlackBerry as part of my official portrait, for crying out loud. There was nothing to hide.’ Under Florida law, Bush was required to hand over e-mails related to his time in office. Bush aides say there were about 550,000 e-mails on Bush’s server when he left office in 2007, although a portion of those came from before he began his tenure. About half that number were eventually turned over to state archives.”  [Washington Post, 3/14/15, Florida Code 119.021(4)(a)]

Jeb Bush conducted all his communication on his private jeb@jeb.org account and hand selected which emails to turn over to the state archive. “The former governor conducted all his communication on his private Jeb@jeb.org account and turned over the hand-selected batch to the state archives when he left office. Absent from the stash are emails the governor deemed not relevant to the public record: those relating to politics, fundraising and personal matters while he was governor. Compared to Scott, however, who rarely communicates by email, the contrast is stark.” [Tampa Bay Times, 1/3/15]

Jeb Bush released his private emails from the state archive, but the files were “not complete.” “The Bush files, though enormous, are not complete, however.” [Tampa Bay Times, 1/3/15]

As governor, Jeb Bush had three email accounts, including jeb@jeb.org. “In three follow-up e-mails (which Bush also answers promptly), the governor reveals: He has three e-mail accounts, receives 200 to 300 a day onJeb@Jeb.org and reads most of them. He guesses that 25 percent of the e-mails come from colleagues, 50 percent from constituents, 10 percent from family and friends and 15 percent from junk mail and list mail. The risk, he says, is in relying too much on e-mail, at the expense of face-to-face nuance. ‘There is always [the] threat of invading family time!’ he writes.” [The Washington Post, 2/21/03]

• Bush continued to use the private jeb@jeb.org email after leaving office. [Email from Jeb Bush To Matt Castner, 6/5/08]

• Bush estimated 25 percent of email traffic came from colleagues. “In three follow-up e-mails (which Bush also answers promptly), the governor reveals: He has three e-mail accounts, receives 200 to 300 a day onJeb@Jeb.org and reads most of them. He guesses that 25 percent of the e-mails come from colleagues, 50 percent from constituents, 10 percent from family and friends and 15 percent from junk mail and list mail. The risk, he says, is in relying too much on e-mail, at the expense of face-to-face nuance. ‘There is always [the] threat of invading family time!’ he writes.” [The Washington Post, 2/21/03]

Jeb Bush received 550,000 personal emails

Jeb Bush said “I received 550,000 personal e-mails when I was governor.” “This BlackBerry was in the portrait done when I left office. It was a symbol of how I worked. I received 550,000 personal e-mails when I was governor.” [Esquire, 12/22/08]

Jeb Bush said he received 550,000 e-mails on his private account during his eight years as governor. “Jeb Bush learned plenty during his eight years as Florida governor, he told a crowd at a United Christian Giving fundraiser in Fort Myers on Thursday. The president’s little brother and former president’s son took few partisan shots, mostly entertaining the crowd with stories from ‘Mount Tallahassee.’ […] Bush said he got 550,000 e-mails on his private account and another 2.5 million on his public account during his eight years as governor.” [Naples Daily News, 7/12/07]

Jeb Bush said he received 2.5 million e-mails on his public account during his eight years as governor. “Bush said he got 550,000 e-mails on his private account and another 2.5 million on his public account during his eight years as governor.” [Naples Daily News, 7/12/07]

Jeb Bush said he would release 250,000 emails

Jeb Bush said he would launch a website to make available about 250,000 e-mails from his time as governor. “Jeb Bush said he would launch a website on Tuesday on which he will make available about 250,000 emails from his time as governor of Florida, as well as the first chapter of an e-book about his administration. The emails, which were obtained by a number of news media organizations through a public records request in December, show Mr. Bush’s style in communicating with both his staff and his constituents.” [New York Times, 2/9/15]

Jeb Bush said he would release 250,000 emails from his two terms in office. “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said on Sunday he will release 250,000 emails from his two terms in office and write an eBook outlining his governing philosophy. The moves have set the political sphere atwitter with speculation he’s closer than ever to deciding to run for president in 2016. In what appears to be a move of classic political procedure — getting ahead of the opposition — Bush told WPLG-TV that his intention is to promote transparency.” [CNN, 12/31/14]

Jeb Bush’s Opaqueness

2006 St. Petersburg Times editorial: “Some state agencies during Gov. Jeb Bush’s tenure have not been as responsive as they should be” about making records public. “Gov.-elect Charlie Crist has demonstrated this week that his commitment to open government and well-run elections, two areas where Florida could stand some improvement, extends well beyond political rhetoric. His creation of the Office of Open Government and his appointment of Pasco Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning as secretary of state are excellent steps toward reasserting the importance of two core values essential to democracy. Some state agencies during Gov. Jeb Bush’s tenure have not been as responsive as they should be about providing the public with records and basic information that should not be secret. Bush’s office has been known to keep close daily track of which reporters are requesting what information from which state agency, and at times the approach in Tallahassee has been to stall as long as possible and then release records grudgingly. The Legislature, meanwhile, has been busy carving out as many exemptions to the public records laws as possible.” [Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 12/15/06]

Morgan: On his first full day in office, “Gov. Jeb Bush refused to produce copies of his daily calendar – a public record under Florida law.” According to an op-ed by Lucy Morgan in the St. Petersburg Times, “The contrast couldn’t be more striking. On his first full day in office, Gov. Charlie Crist invited reporters into his private office and signed his very first executive order creating an Office of Open Government. Eight years ago on his very first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush refused to produce copies of his daily calendar – a public record under Florida law. When pressed, his staff released a calendar that said ‘office hours,’ omitting the customary names of those who might be on the schedule to meet with the governor.” [Morgan, St. Petersburg Times, 1/5/07]

Morgan: Gov. Jeb Bush “made it extremely difficult for anyone to get possession of a public record from his office, frequently stalling for months.” According to an op-ed by Lucy Morgan in the St. Petersburg Times, “Bush tangled with reporters from the minute he was elected, refusing at first to release copies of transition records. Once in office, Bush made it extremely difficult for anyone to get possession of a public record from his office, frequently stalling for months before even routine documents were produced. Crist’s staff routinely released transition records, including requests from people seeking jobs. Bush waited until inaugural events were long over before releasing a list of who made contributions to pay for them. Crist released the names of contributors as the checks came in, posting them on the transition Web site.” [Morgan, St. Petersburg Times, 1/5/07]

St. Petersburg Times editorial: Gov. Jeb Bush’s office was “the only state agency that failed to comply” with the Florida public records law in a 2004 audit. “Four out of 10 government agencies failed to fully comply with the public records law in a recent audit conducted by 30 Florida newspapers, including the St. Petersburg Times. Those in charge of the documents used a variety of tactics to deny or delay the requests, by requiring that they be in writing, forcing the people asking for documents to identify themselves or, in one case, attempting to intimidate the person asking to see a record. […] Document caretakers frequently required the volunteers to identify themselves, state a purpose or make the request in writing (none of which is appropriate under the law). A few government officials attempted to intimidate those seeking a public record. Broward County administrator Roger Desjarlais threatened the person asking to see his office e-mails by saying, ‘I can make your life very difficult.’ Even Gov. Jeb Bush’s office – the only state agency that failed to comply with the law – required a form to be filled out before acceding to a public records request.” [Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 2/10/04]

Gov. Jeb Bush met privately with top state officials to discuss tax cuts, Senate confirmations, and the state budget on his first full day in office, refusing to let reporters listen in. “On his first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush met with the two most powerful public officials in Florida’s Legislature, but the meetings weren’t public. Bush’s staff refused to let reporters in to listen as he chatted with House Speaker John Thrasher and Senate President Toni Jennings. The governor and his aides said the sessions were little more than ‘courtesy calls,’ but later they acknowledged they discussed tax cuts, Senate confirmation of appointments and the state’s multibillion-dollar budget. Florida’s Constitution requires meetings between the state’s top officials, where ‘pending legislation’ or ‘formal legislation’ is discussed, to be open.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]

• The Florida Constitution requires that meetings between top state officials over “pending legislation” or “formal legislation” be open.“On his first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush met with the two most powerful public officials in Florida’s Legislature, but the meetings weren’t public. Bush’s staff refused to let reporters in to listen as he chatted with House Speaker John Thrasher and Senate President Toni Jennings. The governor and his aides said the sessions were little more than ‘courtesy calls,’ but later they acknowledged they discussed tax cuts, Senate confirmation of appointments and the state’s multibillion-dollar budget. Florida’s Constitution requires meetings between the state’s top officials, where ‘pending legislation’ or ‘formal legislation’ is discussed, to be open.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]

• Bush initially said that the meetings were “courtesy calls,” only later admitting that government business was discussed.“On his first full day in office, Gov. Jeb Bush met with the two most powerful public officials in Florida’s Legislature, but the meetings weren’t public. Bush’s staff refused to let reporters in to listen as he chatted with House Speaker John Thrasher and Senate President Toni Jennings. The governor and his aides said the sessions were little more than ‘courtesy calls,’ but later they acknowledged they discussed tax cuts, Senate confirmation of appointments and the state’s multibillion-dollar budget. Florida’s Constitution requires meetings between the state’s top officials, where ‘pending legislation’ or ‘formal legislation’ is discussed, to be open.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]

After winning the gubernatorial election, Jeb Bush claimed that his transition materials were not subject to public records laws because he was still a private citizen. “Bush, who had never held elected office until he was sworn in Tuesday, must get used to working under a microscope. Gone are the campaign days, when he could strategize with his political team and orchestrate events for the cameras. He tussled with some reporters soon after winning the election, claiming that his transition work was not subject to public records laws because he was still a private citizen. At the time, he promised things would be different once he took office, saying he intends to be more open than past governors.” [St. Petersburg Times, 1/7/99]