Gov. Landry’s contempt for Louisiana citizens on public records serves as abject lesson for need for “lemon law” for Governors, and it’s time to return him to the lot as being severely defective.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry

By now, everyone is well aware of Gov. Landry’s staunch efforts to block every public records request we’ve made since he assumed office entailing Louisiana State Police (LSP).

As we illustrated in our last feature, he is now adamant (and quite pompous as well) in seeking to do the same with every Louisiana citizen.

We were present at the Louisiana Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee yesterday (Wednesday, April 17, 2024) on SB-482 by Senator Heather Cloud (R-Turkey Creek) (we’re nicknaming her “Ms. Priss”). This is a video blog, so here we go, folks:

Highlights of Cloud (a/k/a “Ms. Priss”) presenting her bill.  Though Cloud admits to not being an attorney (though not on the above video of highlights), she had her talking points on a laptop on court cases that were virtually certainly supplied by Landry’s Executive Counsel, Angelique Freel (whom we met one time while she served at the AG’s Office and were less than impressed).  She certainly used them to talk down to members of the Committee (hence, the nickname “Ms. Priss”).

————————————————-

Note in the video above that Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is on record as supporting the bill, as is Attorney General Liz Murrill, and a source tells us that Treasurer John Fleming is in support of the bill as well.

—————————————————

Prominent media and public records attorney Scott Sternberg only needs a few minutes to authoritatively counter Ms. Priss’ arguments.

Investigative reporters Lee Zurik and Chris Nakamoto slam Cloud’s bill along with Rebecca Mowbray, President and CEO of the Bureau of Governmental Research, who also testified against Cloud’s bill.

 Belinda Parker-Brown, Rev. Freddie Lee Phillips, and Steven Procopio, President of the Public Affairs Research Council, testify in opposition to Cloud’s bill.

Though Rev. Phillips is vague in the content he uncovered in his quest for public records, the reality is that he was suspicious that Gov. John Bel Edwards was being less than candid when Phillips directly confronted him on Edwards’ removal of him from the Auctioneer Licensing Board only about 20 days after appointing him.

What he uncovered (after first seeing this wide open appeal for auctioneers across the state to urge Louisiana Senators NOT to confirm Phillips) was, through his public records requests, auctioneers throughout Louisiana did in fact send emails to Senators asking them not to confirm Phillips.

Thus, Edwards’ statement that he had made an “over commitment” was a demonstrably false statement, and Edwards simply removed Phillips due to all the pressure from Phillips’ auctioneer colleagues (coincidentally all white back then as Phillips is the first — and for a LONG time only — African American Auctioneer in Louisiana).

For the record, Phillips subsequently formed the Freddie Phillips School of Auctioneering, which was the FIRST online auction school in the entire nation! Through his school, there are now about six (6) African American auctioneers.  [Full Disclosure:  Burns to this day remains an instructor at the school].

WBRZ Managing Editor Kelly Kissell and Bruce Reilly, Deputy Director of VOTE (Voice of the Experienced) testify against Cloud’s bill.

 Dovetailing on commentary by Sen. Greg Miller, R-NORCO, Billy Broussard testifies against Cloud’s bill.

Let us point out just a few quick things entailing Broussard:

1.  As he indicated, his attorney as apparent fraud was being perpetrated in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita was then private citizen Jeff Landry, whom 16th JDC Judge David Ritchie faulted for “filing an illegal lien.”  Ritchie even went so far as to tell Broussard to, “choose your attorney carefully.”.

2.  Once Broussard started obtaining too many public records which clearly outlined the alleged fraud he references on the video above, he was placed under a Restraining Order prohibiting him from making public records requests or speaking with members of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury.

3.  In a meeting with Broussard at the Legislative Auditor’s Office on or about February 3, 2019, Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns witnessed first-hand John Morehead rebuffing Broussard’s claims of fraud by saying that it wasn’t possible given that, “Dan Kennedy with FEMA signed off on all of this debris removal.”  Burns also witnessed Brossard say that, “I’m telling you that I was on this project virtually every day, and I have yet to meet Dan Kennedy!”

4.  It was at the conclusion of that meeting, when Burns himself (who is an inactive CPA) stated to then-Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera:  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but your office is examining the documentation only on the back end, and nobody from your office is out at these sites performing any kind of inspection on whether the debris removal is eligible for FEMA reimbursement or not.”  Purpera stated that Burns’ statement was correct and that no physical inspections of debris removal are performed by the Legislative Auditor’s Office.

5.  At a subsequent meeting with the Legislative Auditor’s Office, at which Sen. Blake Miguez was present and then-Senator Fred Mills attended via teleconference of Wednesday, February 6, 2019, Burns again witnessed (and videotaped) Broussard playing an audio recording file in which Mark DeBosier, former Deputy Director of GOHSEP, bragged of the ability to get the Legislative Auditor’s Office to, “close their eyes, stick their fingers in their ears, and we make sure there’s no fingerprints on it.”    [Note:  CLICK HERE for a crystal clear audio file of DeBosier’s statements.]

Our point is that, when Broussard indicates that he has the documentation to back up his claims of fraud, he means it, and that includes this damning email indicating that a way will be found to get FEMA reimbursement, “whether it is FEMA eligible or not,” along with this even more damning email wherein Kelly Fontenot sends an email to DAN KENNEDY point-blank saying, “We need those GPS locations to go away!!”

On the video above, Broussard reveals the fact that Landry is his cousin.  It’s truly ironic that Broussard’s own cousin, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, seeks to block citizens from obtaining the same type of damning material Broussard obtained solely and exclusively from his public records requests!

Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns, along with C. J. Matthews, testify against Cloud’s bill.

Our site visitors will recall our extensive series on former Ascension Parish Captain C. J. Matthews and the corruption he alleges has been rampant at the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office with him supplying us (which we provide to visitors) with extensive documentation he obtained via his own public records requests.

After former Representative Barry Ivey (though he doesn’t like that title and wants as much distance as possible placed between his name and the Louisiana Legislature) testifies to the fact that Landry sued an Advocate reporter for making a public records request (for more details, scroll to the near-end of this feature), Sen. Cloud, who was MIA, came in to close on her bill.

 Drum roll please………….Here’s the vote, but note the eight-second delay between Chairman Fields asking, “What’s your pleasure?” and anyone volunteering to say the first word!!!!!!!!!  We guess everyone’s a tad nervous about risking their political careers to follow an egomaniac, narcissistic Governor of Louisiana in the person of Jeff Landry.

From our vantage point, Jeff Landry is the car-equivalent of a clunker, and Louisiana needs a “lemon law” so that we can just return him to the lot because he is obviously severely defective!

Since we can’t just return him to the lot, our approach is to adopt one simple slogan:

  “Garret Graves ’27!”

CLICK HERE to see this train wreck bill presentation in its entirety.