Former Reed press secretary charged with violating the Georgia Open Records Act

ATLANTA — The state of Georgia has charged the former press secretary for former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed with violating the Georgia Open Records Act.

The misdemeanor citations against Jenna Garland relate to a pair of violations of the Open Records Act:

• The first citation states that the Department of Watershed Management received an open records request for billing, payment and usage records from WSB-TV for a specific address on March 7, 2017. The citation alleges that Garland instructed the Director of Communications for the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management to “[d]rag this out as long as possible [a]nd provide information in the most confusing format available.”
• The second citation says the Department of Watershed Management received another open records request from WSB-TV on March 21, 2017, for certain billing records. The citation alleges that several days later on April 21, 2017, Garland instructed the Director of Communications for the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management to “[h]old all” documents responsive to the request until the requestor asked for an update.

“Openness and transparency in government are vital to upholding the public trust. I am confident that this action sends a clear message that the Georgia Open Records Act will be enforced,” Georgia Attorney General Carr said in a news release. “I commend the Georgia Department of Law’s Prosecution Division and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for their work on this first of its kind prosecution.”

This case first came to the attention of the Office of the Attorney General following a news story, which aired on WSB-TV on March 8, 2018. The story alleged open records violations by then-mayoral press secretary Jenna Garland and potentially others.

The Office of the Attorney General requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation open an investigation into the matter on March 12, 2018.