JEFFERSON CITY - After four months of broken promises and legal double-talk from Jay Nixon, the Missouri Republican Party is considering its legal options over Nixon’s failure to comply with a Missouri Sunshine Law request seeking state emails he sent or received between August 1, 2007, and November 6, 2007.

Since the original Sunshine Law request was made for Nixon’s emails on November 6, Nixon’s office had initially said he would turn them over yet has failed to comply and he continues to drag his feet regarding when they will be provided, if ever. In the most recent letter dated March 3, 2008, Nixon sought an additional two weeks. Nixon’s behavior on the issue is especially odd for someone who scolded Republicans about the timing of gathering emails: ‘ ‘I think they should make these documents available publicly, and they should do so quickly, ‘ ‘ the Associated Press reported on March 8. And in a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today, Nixon’s office claimed it would be working on an unrelated Sunshine Law request made by the governor’s office “right away.”

A simple review of the facts reveals Nixon’s failures on the request. Nixon’s office said on December 13, 2007, that it could compile the email records with 12 additional hours of work. On December 17, 2007, the MRP asked that Nixon provide the emails as quickly as possible. Yet, despite subsequent reminders on December 28, 2007; January 22, 2008; February 13, 2008; and February 29, 2008, none of Nixon’s emails have been provided. Based on the constant delays and false promises, MRP attorneys finally advised in the February 29 letter that since no documents appeared to be forthcoming “we must consider other legal options for obtaining compliance.”

A complete timeline and record of all correspondence through March 3, 2008, is available at http://www.mogop.org/media/sunshine_timeline.pdf

“The Missouri Republican Party has had enough of Jay Nixon’s games and has decided to seriously look at our legal options as a result of his refusal to honor our lawful request for his public emails. The record clearly shows that Jay Nixon is doing everything he can to avoid complying with the law while he publicly supports the legal witch hunt his panel continues to wage against Republicans,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party. “There is a very serious disconnect between Nixon’s attitudes toward the Sunshine Law as it applies to Democrats versus how it applies to Republicans.”