Who is lying about the state's "active" criminal investigation of the Jefferson County scandal? DoE or Richard Corcoran?

DoE says it redacted 15 personal identifiers within 124 pages of DoE/Jefferson records because of an "active" investigation that former Education Commish Corcoran claims doesn't exist. Hmmm.

On September 21, 2023, more than a year after Tampa Bay Times reporter Lawrence Mower requested them, the Florida Department of Education and Office of the Inspector General released 124 pages of public records related to the state’s sham investigation of the DoE/Jefferson bid-rigging and charter school scandal.

Those 124 pages of public records contain detailed logs, internal investigative discussions, and the names of multiple investigators involved in the “review” of the complaints filed by me and Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee. The records contain tens of thousands of words.

Only 15 of those 10,000-plus words were redacted.

Is the state investigation still “active or open”? Corcoran says no; DoE won’t say

Each redaction appears to hide a name, job title, or email address that would identify someone. By contrast, the state redacted none of the extensive content relating to actual investigative work — to the actual accumulation of information or criminal intelligence.

And yet, today, DoE claims it redacted these 15 personal identifiers — which probably refer in multiple ways to the same three or four people — because they represent “active criminal intelligence information” or “active criminal investigative information.” Further, DoE claims, unredacting the names would reveal “surveillance techniques or procedures or personnel.”

The quoted language in bold above comes directly from the two official exemptions DoE cited to justify hiding those 15 personal identifications in otherwise public records. You can read them in Florida Statues 119.071(2)(c )1 and 119.071(2)(d).¹

Yet, the state publicly closed its Jefferson County investigation in June of 2022. I was one of two official complainants. I received a formal notice of closure and wrote about it at the time. See link below.

DeSantis' DoE/Jefferson OIG "review" ends without any evidence of investigation

DoE investigator Mike Blackburn emailed me the following on June 9, 2022 under subject line: “FDOE OIG 2022-020063 Complaint Response.”

Good Afternoon Mr. Townsend,

Thank you for the information you provided to the Office of the Inspector General.  As you pointed out in your email dated February 15, 2022, and again in a subsequent conversation, the information provided was not your allegations, nor did you have any specific knowledge of the allegations beyond what you read in public records and public reporting.  After reviewing your complaint, the information contained within your complaint, and other pertinent information, we have determined that no further investigation is warranted at this time.  Should any new information be presented, the OIG reserves the right to re-open the complaint.

Again, thank you for your time and the information you provided. 

New College President and Chief Grifter Richard Corcoran certainly considered the state investigation closed. And Corcoran oversaw most of it — as well as the entire DoE/Jefferson scandal itself — while he was Florida Education Commissioner. Here Corcoran is quoted by Politico reporter Andrew Atterbury on former Twitter on August 10 of this year in response to news of a federal grand jury focused on DoE/Jefferson.

It would be hilarious and awesome if the state was still pursuing some real investigation of DoE/Jefferson — all of which occurred under Corcoran’s reign of grift at DoE. (His reign of grift at New College is trending in the same direction, by the way.)

But, for the record, I would wager that Corcoran is right.

I suspect DoE is just openly lying and willfully breaking the law to protect the redacted names from public disclosure.

My informed speculation points to current and former Education Commissioners Manny Diaz and Jacob Oliva as among the redacted names. Full background on the speculation here. Both Oliva and Diaz are close Corcoran allies; and both were closely, personally tied to the DoE/Jefferson scandal.

But I can’t prove my speculation until the state unredacts the names. So I have asked DoE to confirm what it has claimed through the exemptions — that the state government is pursuing an active criminal state investigation of DoE/Jefferson.

DoE has not answered me; and they won’t, I suspect.

Is [redacted] “still reviewing the issue?”

If there is an “active” investigation, it makes absolutely no legal or investigative sense to redact a handful of personal identifiers while releasing actual investigative material.

To see how transparently and corruptly stupid DoE’s claims are, let’s look at the most provocative redactions.

On May 31, 2022, at 5:15 p.m., DoE investigator Mike Blackburn sent an email to two people with authority to review his Jefferson investigation and authorize release of information.

May 31, 2022 was Jacob Oliva’s last day as interim Education Commissioner. Manny Diaz took over the next day. I think [redacted] and [redacted] are most likely Oliva and Diaz in this email. But I can’t know that with certainty.

Hi and [redacted] and [redacted],

As [blank] and I discussed on Friday we are getting ready to close our complaints on the Jefferson County issue. I understand that you are still reviewing the issue and probably will be for the next few months or more. Do you mind if I include in my closing letter to my complainant that your office is still reviewing this matter or is that not for public disclosure.

Three minutes later, at 5:18 p.m. one of redacted told Blackburn not to disclose whatever “reviewing” would continue. DoE redacted the email addresses of this communication.

If that is a document that can ultimately go public I would prefer that it is not for public disclosure.

DoE would have us believe that the identity of the person asking for secrecy (not even the secrecy itself) is what would jeopardize an active criminal investigation and/or reveal surveillance techniques.

LOL, come on.

Absurdity aside, the only hint of a fig leaf DoE might have here relates to the “still reviewing” revelation from way back in June 2022. And the obvious question becomes, is this redacted person and redacted office “still reviewing” the DoE/Jefferson 16 months later?

And if so, why isn’t everything exempt? There are no answers to that question that aren’t blatantly corrupt.

Is DOE using the feds to protect the names?

The sham state investigation is different than the federal grand jury investigation, which is much more recent. It was first reported in August 2023; and it appears to be examining the totality of the massive DoE/Jefferson scandal. Full background here.

DoE/Jefferson scandal goes nuclear; feds subpoena what all the governor's grifters blatantly covered up

Would the federal grand jury justify the redaction of 15 personal identifiers among 10,000-plus words and 124 pages as “active criminal intelligence information” or “active criminal investigative information” that would supposedly reveal “surveillance techniques or procedures or personnel” while releasing pages and pages clean reports on actual intelligence and investigative information.

Come on, man. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Again.

One day, one way or another, these names are going to become public. The willingness of DoE’s public records people to humiliate and degrade themselves suggests that someone in power thinks that’s going to be a bad day for them.

Yesterday, DoE tried to justify the redactions — which may well hide the names of current and former commissioners of Education Manny Diaz and Jacob Oliva — by saying the names were attorney work product for … some sort of litigation or hearing. However, the public record exemption in question requires DoE to name the parties to the litigation, which I pointed out.

They responded with Ooops, wrong exemption. We meant this one:

Any information revealing surveillance techniques or procedures or personnel is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. Any comprehensive inventory of state and local law enforcement resources compiled pursuant to part I, chapter 23, and any comprehensive policies or plans compiled by a criminal justice agency pertaining to the mobilization, deployment, or tactical operations involved in responding to an emergency, as defined in s. 252.34, are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and unavailable for inspection, except by personnel authorized by a state or local law enforcement agency, the office of the Governor, the Department of Legal Affairs, the Department of Law Enforcement, or the Division of Emergency Management as having an official need for access to the inventory or comprehensive policies or plans.

To put it directly: that is batshit crazy. Read this redacted little email.

I do not believe DoE or the state of Florida

Now, in fairness, there is a federal grand jury presumably considering criminal charges in the DoE/Jefferson matter.

1. To add to the absurdity, the state originally cited active criminal investigation plus an exemption for content prepared by an agency lawyer in preparation for litigation or administrative hearing, When I pointed out that same law requires the state to disclose the parties in the litigation, it withdrew the lawyer exemption claim, calling it a mistake. It then added the surveillance exemption.