A judge today ordered the District of Columbia to open up a batch of records to the city's auditor after it tried to deny her request for access.
Senior Judge Eugene Hamilton of the D.C. Superior Court ordered the city to give D.C. Auditor Deborah Nichols "unrestricted access" to documents relating to real estate development projects managed by the now-dissolved National Capital Revitalization Corp. and the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles had rejected Nichols’ original subpoena for the documents, arguing it was too broad to be enforced.
The dispute had pitted Nickles against former D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti, now a partner with Schertler & Onorato, who represents Nichols. In response to today's ruling, Spagnoletti said via e-mail, "The court's Order today confirms that the Auditor has a statutory right to unrestricted access to District government documents when performing her important auditing duties. The Auditor reluctantly—and for the first time ever—turned to the court when the Mayor and Deputy Mayor interfered with that statutory right."
The D.C. Council established the NCRC in 1998 to retain and expand business in the city. In 2004, the AWC was created to develop the Anacostia waterfront. Both boards dissolved in 2007. Many of the records Nichols wants to review involve closed deals.
See the BLT’s earlier coverage of the dispute here.
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