Governor urges no charges in Kitzhaber leaked emails

Governor Brown issued the following statement Tuesday in connection with information recently brought to light regarding an employee’s unauthorized release of state data:

“State government has an obligation to safeguard data and information in its custody. It doesn’t matter if it’s 6,000 of the former Governor’s emails, or Oregonians’ health records, or taxpayer bank account numbers – a data breach is a data breach, and we have an obligation to take action to find out what happened.

“Since Michael Rodgers has now come forward to explain his actions and has taken responsibility for leaking former Governor Kitzhaber’s emails to the media, it doesn’t seem to me to be in the public’s interest to pursue a case against him. The matter is currently in the hands of the Marion County District Attorney who has the results of the Oregon State Police investigation, which I do not have. At this point it is legally the District Attorney’s decision, not mine. But I do hope, if the investigation findings align with what Rodgers reported to the media, that no criminal charges are brought against him for his actions.

“Leaking internal emails to the public was an extraordinary act made in an extraordinary situation; an act based on a lack of trust in the system around him. Instead of wasting public time and resources pursuing charges in this case, I would rather focus on rebuilding trust and accountability. In March 2015, I sent an email to executive branch employees articulating my expectations about their obligations, resources, and options so that, in the future, no one will be put in the situation Mr. Rodgers found himself in.”

Rodgers went public with his identity in a story last week in Willamette Week. He gave the newspaper 6,000 emails that Kitzhaber’s staff had asked to delete. The governor resigned in February.