From the Charlotte Observer (11/11/10): During his decades in the General Assembly and at the Department of Justice, Attorney General Roy Cooper has spoken as a champion of open government.
But as reports of misconduct and incompetence at the State Bureau of Investigation have emerged, the sunshine has dimmed at the N.C. Department of Justice.
Cooper oversees the SBI. For months, The News & Observer has asked Cooper’s office to release:
- FBI audits of the SBI’s criminal information system: 77 days and counting.
- An internal audit of agency vehicle use: 85 days and counting.
- Travel records for a senior SBI official: 22 days and counting.
Cooper noted in an interview this week that his office has provided thousands of pages of public records to The N&O over the past months. He said his office is continuing to work diligently on the requests, which he called voluminous.