Corbett’s Office refuses to accept Right to Know Request from Keystone Progress

(HARRISBURG, PA)—Keystone Progress attempted to deliver a Right to Know Request to the Office of Attorney General, but after a 40 minute wait at 1:30 in the afternoon, was told “Everyone is at lunch. Mail it in.”

“Once again, Tom Corbett’s Office is showing its disdain for the public and for the rule of law,” said Michael Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress. “The Office of Attorney General cannot arbitrarily refuse to accept the legitimate requests of Pennsylvania citizens because its entire staff is at lunch at 1:30 in the afternoon.”

Here is the chronology of the OAG’s refusal to accept a Right to Know Request, by Michael Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress.

1:15 PM I arrived at Office of Attorney General’s reception area on the first floor of Strawberry Square in Harrisburg. I was asked to call upstairs to the OAG’s office on the 15^th floor to get permission to go upstairs. I told the woman who answered the phone who I was and that I wanted to come upstairs to submit a Right to Know request. At first, she said I could come right up. I asked her to talk to Capitol Police officer on duty to let him know it was alright. When the officer got off the phone, he told me that she could not allow me to come up and that I should wait a few minutes until she got an answer. She told him that she would call back in a few minutes.

1:25 PM The officer on duty apologized for the delay and called the OAG asking whether they would allow me upstairs. He was told “everyone was at lunch.” The person on the phone said they would not allow me upstairs, but I could wait.

1:44 PM The first floor receptionist was called by OAG. They said again that everyone was at lunch and that I would have to mail in my request.