According to a release from the DNR, there is a concern that Attorney General Nixon's Office tried to force DNR to take over the bridge at the urging of supporters of his political campaign, and that a Nixon spokesman told media that e-mail are deleted on a regular basis in the AG's Office.
Childers' request includes the following:
- All electronic records related to the Boonville Bridge located in Boonville, Missouri, from December 1, 2004, through March 15, 2008.
- All electronic records related to the Boonville Bridge lawsuit filed by the Attorney General's Office in 2005 against Director Childers and the Department of Natural Resources.
- All electronic records related to the Attorney General's Office 2005 appeal of a water quality certification issued to the Union Pacific Railroad Company, which is pending in front of the Missouri Clean Water Commission.
- All electronic records which discuss or explain why the Attorney General's Office attempted to force the department to take the bridge from Union Pacific, the rightful owner as determined by Missouri courts.
- All electronic records that demonstrate how many staff and how much time and expense the Attorney General's Office devoted to the Boonville Bridge litigation referenced in #2 and #3 above.
- All timesheets and expense sheets for each AGO staff involved in and related to the Boonville Bridge litigation referenced in #2 and #3 above.
- All e-mail sent to or from John Fougere, Mary Still, and Scott Holste, jointly or independently, for the requested period, including e-mail communications with political and environmental groups including, but not limited to, Trailnet, the Audubon Society, the Greenway Network, and the Sierra Club.
- All electronic records indicating all outside groups and individuals the Attorney General's Office staff consulted or coordinated with prior to filing the 2005 lawsuit against the department.
