New Orleans City Government officials say they have fulfilled the public records request filed by a lawyer representing Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
That public records request, filed by attorney Blake Arcuri, sought documents pertaining to the Orleans Parish grand jury’s criminal indictment of Murrill in July, an indictment that was later quashed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. Another attorney representing Murrill, Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue, claims those documents that Mayor Helena Moreno and five city council members knew about the grand jury proceedings despite them and testified before the grand jury despite saying publicly that they did not.
The city attorney, Charlene Gipson, responded to those accusations by saying Rodrigue is "intent on making up her own facts."
The Louisiana Supreme Court has appointed Northshore District Attorney Colin Sims as special prosecutor to investigate Murrill's indictment and what city leaders knew ahead of that indictment.
“Today, the City of New Orleans fulfilled a public records request that sought a host of information concerning the prosecution of AG Murrill, the grand jury that led to her indictment and the letter City Officials authored requesting dismissal of the Indictment,” Moreno spokesman Jonah Gilmore said in a statement. “The City timely produced all responsive public records that are not exempt from production by legal privileges.”
Gilmore also took a swipe at Arcuri and Rodrigue and the allegations they made against the mayor and council members. Gilmore went one step further and alleged that Murrill’s lawyers’ accusations are projections of their own possible misdeeds.
“While Blake Arcuri and Laura Rodrigue’s flimsy and false allegations against City Officials are unsubstantiated, questions have surfaced regarding Arcuri and his co-counsel's public statements regarding their knowledge of grand jury proceedings, the identities of jurors, and procedures otherwise shielded by longstanding legal protections,” Gilmore said. “To be clear, any attempt to pierce the veil of secrecy legally protecting grand juries and their participants threatens the integrity of our entire justice system.”
