Governor John Bel Edwards Caught Meddling in LSU Athletics
(Baton Rouge, LA) – Yesterday, we learned that Governor John Bel Edwards was apparently very determined to obtain inside information on the playing status of one of LSU’s star basketball players, before this information was made public. The Governor sent multiple text messages to several LSU administrators, and continued to follow-up on the conversations until he received the insider information he was seeking.
Of course, this could all just be a case of Governor Edwards being a fan…except that his office and staff have treated this report so strangely, lashing out at every mention of it and fighting any further news coverage.
The Governor’s team promptly began a “definitely not hiding anything” communications strategy by refusing to comply with a simple records request for two months, delaying the production of these easily accessible and easily searchable electronic records to the media.
Next, and still definitely not hiding anything, the Governor’s office redacted certain comments from the text messages and refused to provide his text conversation with an LSU attorney.
Still definitely not hiding anything, Governor Edwards sent his top lawyer to answer questions about the matter. His attorney then stated “He (the Governor) was not trying to weigh in on whether he (the player) should or should not play. That clearly did not happen and would not have happened.”
Now the Governor’s communication staff is shouting down this article on social media and vigorously retweeting “defenders” of the Governor getting involved in this situation – DEFINITELY. NOT. HIDING. ANYTHING.
We have a few questions:
With whom did the Governor share this insider information?
Did those same individuals bet on any LSU basketball games?
What did Governor Edwards and F. King Alexander discuss on the phone?
Who asked the Governor to obtain this information?
Why did the Governor need to know this information before the public learned of it?
Why did it take two months to respond to the records request?
Why did the Governor question those specific LSU administrators?
If the Governor’s interest in this matter was only personal, why did he discuss the matter with one of LSU’s attorneys?
Further, if Governor Edwards was “asking for a journalist” why does the content of his conversation with the LSU attorney require the protection of the attorney-client privilege?
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Contact: jason@lagop.com
