Pence, who touts openness, tries to stop document release
INDIANAPOLIS — Lawyers for Indiana Governor and Republican Vice-President-elect Mike Pence argued in court Monday that the state’s judicial branch has no authority to require him to comply with Indiana’s public records law.
The civil case before Indiana’s Court of Appeals was brought by Indianapolis attorney William Groth, who sued in 2015 after the Pence administration denied a request for un-redacted records, including a document related to Republican efforts to stop President Barack Obama’s immigration executive order.
Pence has long presented himself as a champion of a free press and the First Amendment. That’s a contrast to President-elect Donald Trump who made attacks on reporters a hallmark of his campaign and refused to release his tax records as other modern presidential candidates have done.
In March, Pence vetoed a bill that would have exempted private universities from releasing some police records, calling it “a disservice to the public and an unnecessary barrier to transparency.” And on the campaign trail he aggressively criticized Democrat Hillary Clinton for refusing to release emails sent from a private server she maintained while secretary of state.