"San Francisco's Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, the commission that oversees public-records law, voted unanimously on Wednesday that Mayor Daniel Lurie improperly withheld documents about his call last year with President Donald Trump from disclosure. That Oct. 22 call presaged a withdrawal of federal forces from the Bay Area, and some worry Lurie may have struck a deal with the White House during the call."
"The mayor's office wrote in a letter ahead of the vote that the issue has been misrepresented and that there are no records related to the call besides a "legal consultation" between the mayor's office and the city attorney's office and related "attorney work product." It is declining to release these records, the letter continued, because they fall under attorney-client privilege, and are therefore exempt."
"The mayor's office added that these unreleased records from that day are not related to the phone call with Trump, but rather to an executive directive Lurie ordered to prepare for the deployment. "We did our most diligent effort when this request was submitted," said Dexter Darmali, the mayoral aide responsible for records. But, he said, there simply are no records - except those where the mayor's office was seeking protected legal advice."
The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force unanimously determined that Mayor Daniel Lurie improperly withheld documents about his Oct. 22 call with President Trump. The call preceded a federal withdrawal from the Bay Area and raised concerns that Lurie may have made promises to the White House. The mayor's office contends only privileged records exist, describing a "legal consultation" and "attorney work product" and asserting attorney-client privilege. A mayoral aide said no non-privileged records exist beyond protected legal advice. The task force rejected that explanation, noting some records may not be privileged and urging release of additional information.
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