County, Feds Continue Battle Over FirstNet Emails

The U.S. Justice Department continues to fight the release of emails stored on Story County (Iowa) computers, under the account of county sheriff Paul Fitzgerald and on the subject of the FirstNet public safety wireless project. Both sides have filed hundreds of pages of documents on the issue, and will argue their positions in-person on March 5th in U.S. District Court in Des Moines. Fitzgerald is a member of the FirstNet board, and from nearly his first day was critical of how the board was internally sharing information. Last year the Politico Web site submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the county for Fitzgerald’s emails. The county stated its intention to release the emails. However, the DOJ objected to the release, claiming Fitzgerald is a “Special Government Employee,” and that the emails are exempt from the FOIA. Releasing the emails could cause “significant harm” if released to the public, the DOJ has claimed in court documents. Story County officials dispute Fitzgerald’s federal employment status, and say the federal government has only made “mere assertions” that irreparable harm would result if the emails are released. The court issued a preliminary injunction to prevent release of the emails, but has scheduled the hearing to consider a permanent injunction. Download (pdf) a 131-page collection of selected court documents here.