Reynolds sues Des Moines Register to keep staffers’ emails confidential

Gov. Kim Reynolds has filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register that seeks to keep confidential some of the written communications among her senior advisors.

In court papers filed Friday by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Reynolds asks for an injunction to stop the Register “from demanding production of the documents protected by executive privilege.”

The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District Court, argues that the Register “contends that the governor may not communicate with, or privately correspond with, her most senior advisors without those communications being open public records. That is not — and cannot be — the law.” The lawsuit claims that such a requirement for disclosure would preclude her from receiving “candid advice from her closest advisors.”

However, the Register argues that the documents being withheld by Reynolds were not authored by, or sent to, Reynolds, and are instead part of an exchange among her advisors and staff.

The documents in question are tied to Reynold’s Feb. 5 testimony before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, which was conducting hearings on government efficiency. At the time, Reynolds was questioned by U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, as to whether she agreed with Michael Flynn, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, that Lutheran Family Services was connected to a “money-laundering operation.”

During the hearing, Reynolds answered by saying, “I can tell you that in Iowa, the taxpayers of Iowa hold me personally responsible and accountable for state government, just as they hold President Trump accountable,” and when pressed on whether she agreed with Flynn, she said “I can’t speak to that.”

Days later, Reynolds said she “absolutely” did not agree with Flynn’s assessment and praised the organization for its charitable works. Lutheran Family Services, also known as Lutheran Services in Iowa, is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The Register then sought access to emails to and from several of Reynolds’ advisers that referenced Lutheran Family Services. Reynolds’ office says it turned over more than 800 pages of documents, while withholding four documents that it said contained “candid, private advice and counsel from her most senior advisors.”

According to the Register, the four withheld emails are each labeled with the subject line “Media Prep Doc,” and Reynolds herself was not copied on those emails.

In the newly filed lawsuit, Reynolds’ office argues the Register’s view is that “executive privilege cannot include documents sent between senior staff intended for the governor. Instead, presumably, the governor must be CC’d or otherwise included on an email or other communication directly to assert privilege.”

Mason Mauro, Reynolds’ spokesperson, said Friday in a written statement that “it is in the public’s interest that governors can receive candid advice from their closest advisors. We are confident that the judicial branch will recognize that governors have a constitutional executive privilege in Iowa, just as they recognized a legislative privilege last year, and have used a deliberative privilege to protect the communications of Iowa Supreme Court justices.”

This story has been updated to add the church affiliation for Lutheran Family Services.