Powell recording about more than email

Posted on 09 September 2012 . A recorded conversation between two apparent friends has reignited controversy surrounding members of Gov. Susana Martinezs adminstration allegedly using their private emails to conduct state business. On Oct. 14, 2011, Brian Powell, of Roswell, recorded a conversation between himself and Martinezs Chief of Staff Keith Gardner, also from Roswell. Powell did not tell Gardner he was recording him. New Mexico law requires that only one party must consent to the recording of an in-person conversation. In a written statement, Powell reasons, I recorded this conversation because Ihad reason to believe Mr. Gardner might be motivated to prevent crucial testimony by a witness at an upcoming preliminary hearing, in reference to a sexual assault case heard in 5th Judicial Court involving Powells daughter. Powell writes that a critical witness in the case had suddenly expressed reluctance to testify. Ibelieved this witness and the testimony at issue might be what Mr. Gardner wanted to discuss with me, and I felt it necessary to preserve the conversation, verbatim, just in case. Yet Powell did not release the recording because of the case involving his daughter, but because of a statement Gardner made nearly 33 minutes into the one-hour-and-13-minute recording. Thats why Inever email on my state email anything that can come back to bite my (expletive). Its all done offline, Gardner said on the recording. I never use my state email, cause its all done on different stuff, cause I dont want to go to court or jail. Powell writes, Suddenly this statement was relevant to an on-going investigation I understand the issue related to email is directly involved in another case, and I gave Mr. Bregman my permission to make the recording a matter of public record for that reason. Attorney Sam Bregman, a registered Democrat, represents Larry Flynn, a fired Department of Corrections worker. Last year, Flynn was investigated after discharging a handgun outside a house that he shared with then-Corrections Secretary Lupe Martinez on prison grounds, and also for allegedly falsifying his time card. Flynn contends the governors office unjustly swayed the departments ultimate decision to dismiss him. This is the case that first revealed the Martinez administrations supposed use of private email accounts for government business. Bregman is representing Powell in a separate case.

On Friday evening, Greg Blair, spokesman for Martinez, sent a statement to the Daily Record on behalf of Gardner, which reads that Martinezs chief of staff has announced he will file a formal ethics complaint with the New Mexico Disciplinary Board against criminal defense lawyer Sam Bregman for unethical conduct that has resulted in the outing of a young female relative of Gardner as a witness in a sexual assault case. Gardner is quoted in the release as saying, Sam Bregman today crossed the line. He tried to use a snippet of a private conversation about two young girls in a sexual assault case to mislead the press. He knew what he was telling the press was false and he knew that his actions would result in identifying my female relative in the case. Bregman should be embarrassed as a lawyer and utterly ashamed on a personal level. Bregman released a 24-second clip of the recording to members of the press last week. On the full recording, Gardner is stating that it is wrong for anyone in government to utilize their official government emails or computers to send or receive inappropriate material, including pornography, or for any other inappropriate purpose, Blairs statement reads. Gardner is clearly describing that he avoids using government email for non-government purposes. The comments had absolutely nothing to do with sending or receiving private emails relating to government business. In response to the statement, Bregman said during a phone interview, All that sounds like to me is Gardner, the governor and Jay McCleskey (political advisor to Martinez) trying to spin this. Its not accurate and he knows it. Bregman said earlier in the phone interview, It is extremely important for the media and for any citizen to be able to access public records to know what their elected officials and the people that work for elected officials are doing. In this instance there is a clear pattern of trying to hide the peoples business from both the media and the people of New Mexico. While there has been speculation that the releasing of the recording was politically motivated, Bregman said, This isnt about politics. This is about the law and whether or not this administration is following the law. A portion of Powells statement reads, I am a Republican and Ivoted for Gov. Susana Martinez. As part of her Cabinet, Mr. Gardner is a public servant and owes the public a duty of candor.