Disappearing texts could effectively erase Missouri's public record laws, lawyer says
In Washington, the House committee examining what really happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is examining the possibility that then-President Donald Trump used a “burner phone” to hide his contacts from the public view.
In Missouri, hidden telecommunications are no hypothetical — but whether public officials can conceal their conversations with impunity remains a question for the Court of Appeals.
On one side is the Missouri governor’s office. Eric Greitens was governor in 2017 (and not yet embroiled in the scandal that would bring his resignation) when the Kansas City Star revealed he and his senior staff were using the disappearing text app Confide. A citizen, Ben Sansone, quickly filed a Sunshine Law request, seeking to find out who in Greitens’ office was using the app — and whether the messages could be seen like any other record of governance. When the governor’s office failed to respond in a timely way, attorney Mark Pedroli filed suit.
In litigation, Pedroli learned that no fewer than 27 Greitens’ staffers were using Confide — and he says he’s established they were using it for official government business. But he still ran into trouble. Cole County Judge Jon Beetem dismissed Pedroli’s suit, saying in essence that Missouri’s Sunshine Law only applies to government records that have been retained, while disappearing text messages cease to exist soon after arrival. Private citizens, Beetem wrote, had no right to sue over them.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-04-05/disappearing-texts-could-effectively-erase-missouris-public-record-laws-lawyer-says