Gov’s office cites complex questions from reporters, busy schedule as defense in lawsuit

Testimony in the trial between the Santa Fe Reporter and the office of Gov. Susana Martinez ended Friday afternoon. Lawyers on both sides will file closing arguments in writing three weeks after the official court transcript is available. The Santa Fe Reporter filed the suit in 2013 arguing Martinez’s the governor’s office violated state public […]

Testimony in the trial between the Santa Fe Reporter and the office of Gov. Susana Martinez ended Friday afternoon.

Lawyers on both sides will file closing arguments in writing three weeks after the official court transcript is available.

The Santa Fe Reporter filed the suit in 2013 arguing Martinez’s the governor’s office violated state public records laws and actively discriminated against the paper after it published unflattering coverage of the governor.

During the three-day bench trial, testimony from former and current Martinez staffers offered a rare glimpse into how the governor’s staff handles media inquires and how they prioritize her agenda and her messages to the public. Throughout the trial, the governor’s contract lawyer Paul Kennedy tried to paint the picture of a busy governor’s office with overworked staff and not enough resources to adequately comply with state law and respond to every media request.

Martinez’s former Communications Director Enrique Knell, who currently directs boards and commissions at the state’s Regulation and Licensing Department, attributed the office’s lack of response to inquiries from the Santa Fe Reporter to scarce resources and busy schedules.

Knell said if he wasn’t busy assisting the governor with the legislative matters, then he was busy accompanying the governor to wildfires around the state. Knell testified his job was not to cater to media outlets, but to deliver specific messages the governor wanted to disseminate to the public. In one instance Knell recalled a 2013 fire in the Pecos Wilderness. Knell said he accompanied Martinez to the area in order to help get her message out.

“I was there to accommodate the governor,” Knell said in response to Kennedy’s question about whether he was there to accommodate news media.

Knell said 2013 was a particularly busy year for him personally, citing shared custody of his children, a commute from Albuquerque and a lack of support staff in the communications office.

Santa Fe Reporter attorney Daniel Yohalem contrasted a long list of emails from Knell to other media outlets—including seemingly unsolicited statements from the governor’s office—to a list of unanswered media requests from the Santa Fe Reporter. Knell later testified reporters from other media outlets visited him personally when requesting information and said it was possible the seemingly unsolicited emails were a result of previous in-person conversations.

Kennedy also tried to show that the Santa Fe Reporter overburdened the governor’s office with records requests and asked Knell to compare the alt-weekly’s requests with those from other media outlets.

At one point Kennedy asked Knell, “When you got these emails from the Santa Fe Reporter, were they one or two sentences?”

“No, they were pretty long,” Knell replied.

Kennedy repeatedly showed witnesses a list of public records requests from various media outlets. The Santa Fe Reporter was at the top of the list with 23 requests in 2013. The non-profit news outlet New Mexico In Depth was second on the list with six requests.

Former legal assistant and records custodian for Martinez’s office Pamela Cason testified her daily duties made it difficult to respond in a timely manner to public records requests.

“It was a struggle,” Cason said of balancing her daily duties with responding to the Santa Fe Reporter’s requests.

Other witnesses included current Communications Director Chris Sanchez, Chief of Staff Keith Gardner and former Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director Scott Darnell.

Darnell, who is now a City of Albuquerque contractor, summed up at least one of the duties of Martinez staffers.

“You are attempting to provide the governor’s point of view wherever possible and as often as possible,” Darnell said.

It’s unclear when District Judge Sarah Singleton will issue a ruling.

Note: NM Political Report senior reporter Joey Peters worked at the Santa Fe Reporter when the newspaper filed the lawsuit and testified on the first day of the trial. Peters was not involved in the editing process of this story.

Correction: This story originally said lawyers will file their closing arguments in writing next week. They will file their closing arguments in writing three weeks after the transcript is available.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 69 bills that the legislature passed during the 2024 legislative session. These included the General Appropriations Act which contains…
Guv signs state budget

Guv signs state budget

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Capital Outlay spending bill. The FY25 state budget bill passed…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…

NM Supreme Court annuls $10,000 penalty in PNM/Avangrid merger case

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a penalty the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission levied against the state’s largest utility was…
State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department fined an oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin more than $2 million over produced…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

The New Mexico State Supreme Court censured a New Mexico attorney because of her “misconduct” in two unsuccessful cases pushing back on COVID-19 regulations…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

Tuesday marked the official beginning of the 2024 New Mexico primary season for the legislature, with candidates officially filing for candidacy. This is the…

Bill to require disclosure of use of AI in campaign materials goes to governor

The Senate approved a bill aiming to require the disclosure of the use of artificial intelligence or other changes made by computers to campaign…
House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

The House narrowly approved a bill that would ban firearms near polling places. The House voted 35-34 to pass the bill following an extensive…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…
U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Republican official who was barred from holding office after being convicted for a…
Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Hello fellow political junkies! Candidate filing day has come and gone, and members of House and Senate leadership opted to either not seek reelection…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report