Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sues Des Moines Register over public records request

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is looking to shield certain kinds of government communications from public review in a civil lawsuit levied against the state’s largest newspaper.

Reynolds' office on Friday filed suit in Polk County against the Des Moines Register to stop the release of several emails from senior advisers that the office argued are protected under “executive privilege.”

The Register contends, however, that no such protection exists under Iowa code and that “without established legal parameters, any assertion of this privilege remains arbitrary and unsubstantiated.”

The suit stems from a Feb. 11 records request submitted by Register reporter Tyler Jett, who sought the email communications of several office staff related to Lutheran Services in Iowa, among other topics.

The office in turn replied with 826 pages of documents, although the large majority were copies of statewide and national media coverage that had been shared with the office rather than original office communications.

The office withheld four related emails, however, citing executive privilege and arguing that the communications were “intended to be confidential, and disclosure would inhibit the governor’s ability to receive candid, fulsome and robust information in the future.”

In Iowa, all government records are considered to be open to the public unless they fall under one of the select few and narrowly defined exceptions outlined in state code.

In an April 17 letter drafted by its legal counsel, The Register asserted that executive privilege was not one of the allowable exceptions under state code and that the four emails therefore should be released.

“For the past 50 years, the Iowa Legislature has had ample opportunity to incorporate ‘executive privilege’ as a legitimate defense within the open records law,” the letter states. “The absence of such an amendment unmistakably indicates the Legislature's intent to exclude this basis from the law.”

Further, the letter opined that even if executive privilege was recognized in Iowa that the four emails still would not be considered confidential because they were communications of office staff and not the governor herself.

The letter then asked for the communications to be released by Friday, April 25, but the office instead filed its lawsuit against the publication.

Governor’s office argues confidentiality is in ‘public’s interest’

In the suit, the office argues that the Iowa Supreme Court has acknowledged executive privilege without defining its scope.

“It is in the public’s interest that governors can receive candid advice from their closest advisers,” Mason Mauro, spokesperson for Gov. Reynolds, said in a written release announcing the suit. “We are confident that the judicial branch will recognize that governors have a constitutional executive privilege in Iowa.”

Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council — which advocates for open government — pointed to a 2023 settlement in a case brought by the Council, journalists and media organizations against Reynolds over her office’s response to public record requests.

“As a plaintiff in the successful lawsuit against Governor Reynolds in 2023, the Iowa Freedom of Information Council is concerned the refusal to provide some records concerning Lutheran Services of Iowa’s communications with the Reynolds administration is a continuation of the governor’s desire to shield from public release documents that might cast her in a negative light,” Evans said in a statement.

“The people of Iowa are entitled to evaluate their governor’s actions and comments. That becomes difficult when the governor tries to hide behind what should be a very narrow interpretation of executive privilege.”

The Register had not filed a legal response as of Friday afternoon, and a spokesperson from the newspaper’s parent company, Gannett, declined to comment on pending litigation.

The Des Moines Register also is being sued by President Donald Trump over a poll released in the lead up to the Nov. 4 election in which Trump ultimately won Iowa by more than 13 percentage points.

The suit — filed in December — alleges pollster Ann Selzer, her company, The Register and Gannett committed consumer fraud by publishing a poll three days before the Nov. 5 general election that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump by three percentage points in the Republican-led state.

Trump’s attorneys argue in their suit that the Selzer poll was an attempt at “election interference,” a claim both the pollster and paper have denied. That case is ongoing and has been moved to federal court.

ACLU, Iowa Atheists sue Reynolds’ office for records over Satanic Temple event

Also on Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers demanding Reynolds’ office release requested public records over state officials’ denial of a request by the Satanic Temple of Iowa to hold a 2024 holiday celebration at the State Capitol Building, similar to events the group had celebrated there in previous years.

The temple’s celebration had been planned for Dec. 14 — one year after a statue depicting the pagan idol Baphomet that was part of a display by the temple at the Iowa Capitol was destroyed.

State officials said they denied the application over concerns the sticks that are part of a Krampus costume could be used to hurt children.

The Department of Administrative Services said the display violated the obscenity guidelines in the “memorandum of understanding” groups are required to follow when holding displays or events at the Capitol complex. The guidelines prohibits “obscene materials,” including ones that depict “gratuitous violence or gore.”

The Satanic Temple’s general counsel argued in a letter to the director of the Department of Administrative Services that the cancellation of the celebration was “content-based” and violated the group’s First Amendment rights.

The governor's Office refused to produce the requested documents, citing "executive privilege," according to the ACLU of Iowa. According to the group, some relevant materials were turned over, but much was redacted.

“The Governor’s office has repeatedly refused to respect the rights of Iowans by unjustly and flagrantly asserting executive privilege in order to avoid accountability in matters of public interest,” Jason Benell, president of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers, said in a statement. “Iowans deserve to know if the government is intentionally discriminating against them, and the current executive in Iowa has shown an unwillingness to respect these fundamental rights. A transparent government is an accountable government and IAF intends to address this grievance by petitioning the courts to ensure the rights of Iowans are protected and transparency laws are respected."

The Gazette’s Tom Barton contributed to this report.

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