What They’re Saying: DSCC’s Lawsuit Against Jim Justice Over Refusal to Release Work Schedule

Justice faces Friday court ordered deadline to respond to DSCC suit  

On Friday, Governor Jim Justice’s response to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) lawsuit over his office’s refusal to release records pertaining to his official schedule or official calendar is due. A wave of reporting has highlighted how “Justice has faced an ongoing scandal over his work schedule” following accusations that “work hasn’t always been top of mind” for the “part-time governor.”

Here’s what they’re saying:

Associated Press: Democrats sue for West Virginia GOP Gov. Jim Justice’s calendar amid Senate run
By Leah Willingham
May 23, 2023

• The Democratic party’s U.S. Senate campaign arm is asking a Charleston-based judge to order the release of the calendar of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice. For two terms, [Justice has] been dogged by criticism that he’s rarely at the Statehouse and accused of being a “part-time governor.” His office has been reticent to share his calendar.
  
  
• The suit comes after a 2019 analysis of seven months of Justice’s calendar revealed almost no meetings with his Cabinet and showed he was rarely at the Capitol. His schedule mostly showed him at photo ops or simply unaccounted for.
  
  
• The campaign committee mentioned that reporting in its suit, saying “the Governor may understandably desire to avoid another round of similar criticism” by rejecting its request. “But he is the chief executive of the State and has the duty to ensure that its laws are faithfully executed,” the suit reads. 

WOAY Bluefield: Newswatch at Noon
May 23, 2023

• The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is suing Governor Jim Justice’s office. The DSCC is demanding the release of records pertaining to the Governor’s official schedule and calendar dating from January 2017 to the present. This comes after Justice’s office reportedly repeatedly failed to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests for his official schedule and calendar.
  
  
• The DSCC has sent Jim Justice’s office a litigation hold and notice. Justice has faced an ongoing scandal over his work schedule. The Associated Press reports Justice was “largely absent in job,” while the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports “work hasn’t always been top of mind for the two-term governor.”

WVNews: DSCC sues West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice for access to records
By Charles Young
May 23, 2023

• The suit, brought by Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, seeks access to the governor’s “official schedule or calendar” going back to the beginning of the governor’s first term, according to a release. Last week, the DSCC notified Justice’s office they planned to file suit, sending a litigation hold and notice.

WTRF: Lawsuit filed against Governor Jim Justice over alleged refusal to release work schedule
By John Lynch
May 23, 2023

• “Jim Justice cannot hide his work schedule — or lack thereof — from West Virginians, and this is an area which is sure to receive further scrutiny in his nasty primary and in a court of law,” said DSCC spokesperson David Bergstein.
  
  
• The lawsuit claims that a request for the Governor’s schedule was properly issued under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) but the Governor’s office has refused to produce the most basic records from his time as Governor: lists of the official meetings scheduled for him and his most senior staff.

• In the lawsuit, it states that Governor Justice last produced such records in 2019 and that Governor Justice “almost never meets with his Cabinet, is rarely at the capital, and was largely missing at one of the most critical points of [the] year’s legislative session.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Democratic Group Files Lawsuit To Have Justice Release Work Schedule, Calendar
By Randy Yohe
May 23, 2023

• David Bergstein, the DSCC communications director, said there are key reasons the U.S. Senate candidate cannot hide his work schedule, or lack thereof, from West Virginians. “This has been an ongoing pattern with Justice, where there’s been media reporting about his lack of availability, how hard he’s working, whether he’s actually doing the job,” Bernstein said. “We believe that he needs to disclose these schedules and calendars.”

• “There is already a very nasty and contentious primary fight happening between Justice and Mooney,” Bergstein said. “This may be an area which becomes a conversation in that primary campaign between those two Republican opponents, but they’re already really going after each other. And we’re sure that the Justice work schedule will receive further scrutiny during the primary.”

WBOY: Justice’s office sued over not releasing official schedules
By Alexandra Weaver
May 23, 2023

• The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is suing Gov. Jim Justice’s (R) Office over the release of his official schedules and calendars. The DSCC said in a press release that Justice last produced such records in 2019, and they showed that Governor Justice “almost never meets with his Cabinet, is rarely at the capital and was largely missing at one of the most critical points of [the] year’s legislative session.’” 

The Washington Post: Democrats sue W.Va. Gov. Justice over refusal to disclose work schedule
By John Wagner
May 23, 2023

• Democrats on Tuesday sued West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice for refusing to release his work schedule as governor in response to public records request seeking to show a continued pattern of absenteeism. Such requests are a typical part of opposition research conducted by opposing campaigns and political parties.
  
  
• Two years into Justice’s gubernatorial tenure, media stories portrayed him as largely uninterested in his duties after his office did release copies of his schedules. The Associated Press reported that Justice almost never met with his Cabinet, was rarely at the Capitol and was missing for a critical point during a legislative session. Critics said that Justice, a coal mining billionaire, appeared more interested in tending to his private business interests.
  

• Before Justice’s entrance into the race, his work ethic was already drawing scrutiny, including in an editorial last month in the Charleston Gazette-Mail. “Of course, work hasn’t always been top of mind for the two-term governor, who has remained immersed in his private business interests (often in court over unpaid fees, fines or taxes), continued coaching high school basketball and is only in the capital city a couple of days each week,” the publication wrote.

The Hill: Senate Democrats’ campaign arm sues for records related to Jim Justice’s schedule
By Jared Gans
May 23, 2023

• The lawsuit from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) filed Tuesday, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, states that Justice has refused to “produce the most basic records” from his time as governor — a list of official meetings for him and his senior staff. 
  

• The lawsuit states that a records request in 2019 revealed that Justice “almost never” met with members of his Cabinet, is rarely present at the state capitol and mostly missed one of the “most critical” points of the year’s legislative session.
  
  
• “The Governor may understandably desire to avoid another round of similar criticism, but he is the chief executive of the State and has the duty to ensure that its laws are faithfully executed,” the lawsuit states. “His Office’s refusal to produce the records sought is an open violation of FOIA.” 

See also: Quick Facts on DSCC’s Lawsuit Against Jim Justice Over Refusal to Release Work Schedule.

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