Read more: State, Politics, Crime
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (AP) -- Several media outlets are seeking to enter a government lawsuit against Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt.
The lawsuit was filed in May by investigators selected by Attorney General Jay Nixon to determine whether Blunt's office violated open-records laws by deleting some e-mails. The suit accuses Blunt or a deputy of ordering the destruction of backup e-mail tapes to avoid complying with an Associated Press open-records request.
The AP, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Kansas City Star argue that Blunt's office violated the Sunshine Law by deleting e-mails, charging unauthorized fees for retrieving backup copies and wrongly declaring that some records are exempt.
The news outlets say joining the suit is the only way to guarantee access to the public documents as the investigators could drop their lawsuit.
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