Excerpt From The Arizona Republic (7/15/15): “Timeline: Utility regulator text debate”
“March 2015: Through the state public records law, the Checks and Balances Project, a Washington, D.C.-area watchdog group, requests text messages Stump sent as far back as 2013.
April 2015: The Corporation Commission responds to Checks and Balances Project saying the texts are not available. It provides a log of times and dates messages were sent and contact numbers…”
Excerpt From The Arizona Republic (7/15/15): “Phoenix PD declines to inspect regulator’s phone”
“A government watchdog group called the Checks and Balances Project requested the messages under the state public-records law, and so far the utility regulators have not turned over the messages to the Washington, D.C.-area group.
The commission has agreed to allow the phone to be inspected to comply with the records request, but has been unable to find a law enforcement agency to conduct the inspection, and the cell company said the messages are not available on its system.”
Excerpt From The Arizona Daily Star (7/16/15): “Steller: People complicate Arizona’s simple public-records law”
“The commission has stalled and stalled as a solar-industry affiliated group, the Checks and Balances Project, demanded the content of text messages sent by Commissioner Bob Stump on his commission-issued phone.
As you may recall, the project has discovered that in the run-up to last year’s primary election, Stump exchanged many messages with the leader of a dark-money group, as well as with candidates he and the group supported for the Corporation Commission. The implication was that Stump could have illegally coordinated an independent-expenditure campaign.”
Excerpt From The Arizona Daily Star (7/16/15): “Effort to retrieve ACC board member’s texts continues”
““The next step is to look for a trusted and well-credentialed private lab,” she said, one that has experience in finding deleted electronic data, but said giving the phone to a private company could raise “chain of custody concerns.”
The delay has frustrated Dan Barr, the attorney for the Checks and Balances Project, which has been pursuing the content of the texts for months.
Barr has a replacement in mind and the Checks and Balances Project would pay for those services ‘under the watchful eye of ACC attorneys.'”
Excerpt From Verde Independent (7/14/15): “Arizona Corporation Commission goes on offensive to solve deleted texts problem”
“The Arizona Corporation Commission is obtaining software designed to help ensure the public has a chance from now on of getting access to text messages of state utility regulators. But for the moment it will be up to the regulators to decide whether to use it.”
Excerpt From The Arizona Eagletarian (7/15/15): “Who REALLY should supervise forensic examination of Bob Stump’s cell phone?”
“The Phoenix Police Department has also refused to handle the forensic analysis of Stump’s phone to see if any text messages are retrievable, according to an email sent from Assistant City Attorney Jennifer LaRoque to Corp Comm executive director Jodi Jerich. Last week, DPS also refused the job, saying there is no allegation of criminal activity involved in the controversy.”
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