FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2019
DENVER—After weeks of denials and obfuscation before Congress and the public, an Interior Department spokesperson confirmed to CQ Roll Call today that Interior put details of Secretary David Bernhardt’s daily schedule in a Google document that’s regularly overwritten, and that Bernhardt’s staff developed a protocol to keep the Secretary’s meetings with oil and gas, mining, and water interests off his public calendar. The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Deputy Director Aaron Weiss:
“David Bernhardt is changing his story on a weekly basis. In February, he told Congress ‘the details of the schedule I receive each day are publicly provided.’ We now know that was a lie. Today, Bernhardt’s spokesperson admitted his schedule is actually a ‘puzzle,’ and the only way to piece together the details of that puzzle is to examine each individual meeting request. Bernhardt has never shared those meeting requests with the public.
“Putting your calendar in a Google document which is constantly overwritten appears to be an egregious violation of the Federal Records Act. The only reason for Bernhardt to play these kinds of games with his schedule is to conceal his repeated meetings with former clients and the favors he performed for them as Deputy Secretary.
“Today’s explanation leaves even more questions unanswered. Someone ordered Interior Department staff to create a system designed specifically to conceal information from Congress and the American people. Now Bernhardt is stonewalling congressional requests to get to the bottom of it. It’s time for David Bernhardt to come clean and cooperate.”
The Federal Records Act requires federal agencies to preserve all documents made or received “in connection with the transaction of public business.” The Interior Department’s records management training course—which David Bernhardt completed—specifically states that draft electronic documents “containing unique substantive information must be preserved.”
For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org. Sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox.