(Des Moines, Iowa) – A District Court Judge in Polk County, Wednesday, tossed out a lawsuit filed by the Kirkwood Institute against State Auditor Rob Sand, Chief of Staff John McCormally, and the Auditor’s Office. Sand was accused of violating open records laws and using his office for political gain. The Kirkwood Institute had claimed Sand refused to hand over documents about the office’s communications with a reporter and liberal blogger after Sand accused Gov. Kim Reynolds of improperly appearing in a COVID-19 public service announcement. The Court concluded “the emails were properly maintained as confidential and withheld,” and therefore granted summary judgment in favor of Auditor Sand and the rest of the Auditor’s Office.

In response to the ruling, Sand said “We are committed to transparency, but also to protecting whistleblowers who help us uncover waste, fraud, and corruption. We’ve had everyone from right-wing media outlets to the Democratic National Committee ask for records that could possibly identify tipsters. Our answer is the same every time: we must deny requests that would chip away at our ability to protect whistleblowers and save taxpayers money. Iowans can trust the State Auditor’s Office.”