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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017


Contact: Kristen Muszynski
207-626-8404/ 207-441-7638

Sec. Dunlap files lawsuit seeking access to


Elections Commission correspondence, information
AUGUSTA Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a member of the federal Presidential
Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, has filed a lawsuit today in an effort to obtain
information about the commissions work.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the suit alleges that the commission,
led by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, has violated the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by excluding Dunlap and others from much of the
commissions work. The Executive Office of the President (EOP) is also a named defendant, as
the office is staffing the commission and maintaining its records.

Since the Sept. 12 meeting, I have received no correspondence from the commission other than
to acknowledge receipt of my information request, said Sec. Dunlap. Clearly, there is
information about this commission being created and discussed, but I have no access to that
information and it has not been provided upon request.

My goal in filing this lawsuit is to bring the commission into full compliance with FACA,
which would allow me and all of my fellow commissioners to fulfill our roles as full,
participating members and provide a meaningful report to the President upon concluding our
work.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, Sec. Dunlap submitted an information request to the commission on
Oct. 17 citing concerns about a vacuum of information from the leadership or staff. The FACA
requires that all commissioners receive equal information about the commissions work, but he
has not been privy to any discussions related to meeting materials, witness invitations, goals, or
outreach. His repeated requests for this information have been rebuffed.

Dunlaps suit is based on the 1999 DC Circuit Court decision in Cummock v. Gore, in which the
court held that commissioners may not be denied access to information. Dunlap is represented by
nonpartisan ethics watchdog American Oversight and the law firm of Patterson Belknap, based
in New York City.

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