A judge grants mayoral Chief of Staff, Clifton Davis III a temporary restraining order against the New Orleans City Council which prevents them from holding Davis and other staff members in contempt for not cooperating with the council’s Smart City investigation.
Judge Nicole Sheppard granted the temporary restraining order at a hearing on Thursday.
The judge’s ruling temporarily prevents the council from holding the mayor’s staff accountable for not handing over documents requested by the council as part of their investigation into possible corruption in the “Smart Cities” contracts awarded to specific members of her administration.
"There is a reason why we started looking into the smart cities,” City Councilwoman Helena Moreno explained on the Newell Normand Show on Thursday. “Because there were some things from the onset that appeared weird. And it was the real lack of information that the council was receiving that had us actually perk up even more. That is what started so much of this…is the lack of transparency around this project, how this huge contract was awarded, and who are the players.”
