Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin might have avoided federal prison if
As the city struggled to recover from Hurricane Katrina, Nagin, a Democrat in his second term, seemed adrift, and reporters and citizens began seeking various records.
after he refused to turn over copies of his calendar and emails in 2008. , a blogger and activist at the time, got records showing that a post-Katrina blight-remediation program was largely a scam. that showed how Nagin was negotiating a private contract with Home Depot at the same time the retailer was hammering out the terms around its new Central City store with his administration.
Federal prosecutors were watching and reading those stories, which formed the seed material for what became a wider investigation. , prosecutors highlighted over 30 calendar entries and called reporter Lee Zurik to testify. They pressed Nagin on why he redacted calendar items with one particular contractor — Frank Fradella — who, it turned out, had
In the end, including conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud, accepting bribes, money laundering and filing false tax returns — a stunning downfall for the once-popular mayor.
"In the Nagin case in particular, the public records sought and obtained by investigative journalists compellingly illustrated how when a public official puts effort into hiding something, it can be like a big red sign that says, 'Hey, look here!'" said George Bokelberg, a retired special agent who led the investigation into Nagin.
Bokelberg said he instructed his trainees in the FBI's public corruption squad to read the newspaper every morning and found that local investigative journalism was "often the tip of the spear" for uncovering evidence by using public records. He said he shudders to think of the valuable tool being taken away.
Matthew Chester, a lawyer now in private practice who was part of the Nagin prosecution team, also described the public records — and specifically Nagin's calendar entries — as an important part of the government's case.
Such information, however, might no longer be accessible if the Legislature passes which would gut the state’s public records law. The bill, carried by state Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, to the public that reflect “advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations comprising part of a process by which governmental decisions and policies are formulated.” The law would apply to all levels of government, from Gov. Jeff Landry’s office to local school boards and libraries.
Nagin, for example, could have argued under the proposed law that his calendar entries were examples of deliberations he made as New Orleans mayor — and therefore the public was not entitled to see them.
While Cloud is a Republican, and Landry, also a Republican, has enthusiastically backed the bill, the bill has spawned critics on both sides of the political aisle. Public records have traditionally been a nonpartisan issue, used every day by citizens and political operatives alike. People shared stories of using public records to learn about everything from street work to stenches in their neighborhoods, to perform background checks on their children’s teachers, to determine whether their tax dollars are being put to good use.
Cloud has countered that her bill allows public employees to speak freely “without fear of public ridicule or criticism and guards against public confusion by preventing the premature disclosure of proposed policies before they have been finally formulated or adopted.” But the bill also never allows for any release of such records, even after proposed policies are adopted.
“The proposal justifies the hiding of documents as a method to foster ‘open communication,’” said the state’s nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council. “That argument is hogwash when used to eviscerate state sunshine laws.”
Following outcry over the legislation, Cloud in a statement Tuesday said she plans on amending the bill by "narrowing the scope and those it pertains to drastically," though she did not offer specifics.
While the public records law has an outsized role in journalism, public records are also key documents for oil and gas companies, mortgage companies and out-of-state businesses who are considering Louisiana, as they use them to size up opportunities. Another proposed bill this session, , would only give Louisiana citizens the right to examine state public records, potentially affecting the state’s business climate. And would require anyone who submits a public records request to show identification to receive it, which supporters say is to cut back on concerns about artificial intelligence accounts spamming government officials with records requests.
Others who live here, like the St. George Fire Protection Association, say they use public records requests to ensure the health and safety of the public and those who protect and serve. The union said they’ve filed public records requests to ensure fair pay for firefighters, which has spawned an ongoing lawsuit over pay discrepancies.
“Public records access is how we are able to verify laws are being followed, or in some cases, broken!” the union said in a statement. “Again, this is for both the public we protect as well as the members within our department. With how tax dollars are currently spent, we couldn't imagine if there were actually no access to that information!”
Public records have prompted oversight hearings
Other news stories revealed by public records have caught the interest of state legislators and local prosecutors, including the violent 2019 death of motorist Ronald Greene. Louisiana state troopers pulled over Greene and beat him and placed him in a chokehold before he died, actions first brought to light by The Associated Press.
The news service published a series of reports that compiled public records about Greene’s death, — obtained via a public records request — that showed the former State Police head had texted former Gov. John Bel Edwards soon after the incident.
The Legislature formed a special committee to investigate Greene’s death after those records were publicized, and a state grand jury indicted five officers in his death. Two remain as defendants.
Public records laws have been used to pry loose some of Louisiana’s most closely held secrets, involving some of the state’s best-known figures.
While former LSU football coach Les Miles achieved folk-hero status for eating grass on the field and calling trick plays, the public never knew that LSU student workers had accused him of sexual harassment. to pry loose records around LSU’s 2013 investigation into sexual harassment by Miles, which university officials and board members had successfully concealed to that point.
Miles dropped a bid to keep the report secret — though he’s maintained his innocence — and LSU released it shortly afterward. It showed Miles had been accused of kissing a student worker and suggesting they go to a hotel or condo, and that the law firm LSU hired to investigate determined his behavior was inappropriate.
The fallout from Miles’ sexual harassment case was swift: He immediately parted ways with Kansas, where he was coaching when the details became public. He has not coached college football since.
It was one of many high-profile public records lawsuits involving LSU in recent years.
In 2013, The Advocate, The Times-Picayune and the editor of the student newspaper The Daily Reveille all related to a presidential search. The case worked its way up to the Louisiana Supreme Court. LSU was eventually forced to release the names of the finalists in the search in 2015.
“You’re never getting another LSU record again if this passes,” said Scott Sternberg, who is executive counsel to the Louisiana Press Association and also represents The Times-Picayune and The Advocate, as he testified against the bill in a committee hearing.
Citizens have used public records to hold government accountable
Some citizens have made public records requests part of a larger quest to improve their neighborhoods and cities.
for example, has seen the fruits of his public records requests help spawn a federal probe into payroll fraud at the New Orleans Police Department. Gallagher unearthed information that showed some NOPD officers were logging as many as 31 hours a day.
He’s also used public records to expose that nearly 100,000 remain untested and unprocessed at the NOPD crime lab. Gallagher said he first got the bug for public records nearly a decade ago when he requested records about the Regional Transit Authority’s decision to buy two ferries that could not pass inspection.
“How much of this information would have been hidden if this public records law moves forward?” Gallagher said. “You wouldn’t be able to get records because they’d put it under some thinly veiled idea that we’re still looking at this or investigating this or we’re still trying to figure out how to move forward.”
“The closer you get to the truth — an uncomfortable truth where something has been done wrong or there’s actual criminal behavior — is where you get the most pushback,” he added.
Rick Franzo, the leader of , said his watchdog group handed federal investigators over 26,000 pages of documents received through public records requests related to former Sheriff Jack Strain and former District Attorney Walter Reed. on fraud and corruption charges. Strain pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and was also for which he’s now serving a life sentence.
“Public records are so vital to us,” Franzo said. “How do you let any governmental agency operate in the dark like that? We’re totally against [the bill] and we’re gonna do everything we can to fight it.”
Warring sides over banning books at St. Tammany Parish libraries have also with dueling requests. Those leading efforts to require parental permission for children to check out certain books have sought policies about how the library handles purchasing books with LGBTQ+ themes. They’ve also sought communications between the library director and advocates who oppose book censorship.
Those on the other side of the debate have also filed public records requests to get more details about books that are being challenged and user demographics.
In Livingston Parish, Amanda Jones said she regularly files public records requests with her library system for the titles of books that have been challenged and reasons behind those challenges.
“People who have nothing to hide shouldn’t be worried about public records,” Jones said, noting that she’s had a hard time getting public records under current law. “I don’t have much faith in the process unless I’m dealing with honest people.”
Without public records, how can the past be archived?
Alexis Durante, who grew up in Hammond, has made it her mission to archive as many Louisiana public records as possible. Durante works as an archivist in Washington, D.C., and has handled documents as precious as the Vatican’s archives in Rome, but she still finds Louisiana items to be particularly special.
She’s created a Louisiana cultural archive with records from the Louisiana Purchase through the present. She was drawn to archiving public records after seeing how her grandparents lost photo albums and other cherished records in hurricanes. She shares stories online about archiving Louisiana history and has amassed nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok.
But Durante would be hit by a double whammy with the public records bills that the Legislature is currently considering: she no longer is a Louisiana resident, meaning she might no longer have a right to inspect Louisiana records. Meanwhile, the records she’s looking for might no longer be public.
“These public records have been public since the time of the Louisiana Purchase and before,” she said. “This bill would be antithetical to not only educational but also public life.”
Investigations editor Gordon Russell and service journalism editor Julia Guilbeau contributed to this report.
Editor's note: The descriptions in this story of the St. Tammany Parish library issues were updated after publication.
