Gov. Larry Hogan may have campaigned on a pledge to bring more transparency to government in Annapolis, but his lawyer has urged agency heads and staff to stamp a claim of "executive privilege" — the civilian equivalent of "top secret" — on all their internal correspondence, emails and documents.
Within two weeks of taking office, an email from Robert F. Scholz, the governor's chief legal counsel, went out to top officials or their aides in a variety of departments, agencies and offices advising them to post a triple-barreled, capitalized claim of secrecy on all written communications with the governor or his staff.
It should say, he wrote, "CONFIDENTIAL, FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY – PROTECTED BY EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE." Continue>>>
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