Now We Know Why Cooper Will Not Release All The COVID Data.

 June 15, 2020
For Immediate Release

Raleigh NC- In late May, a coalition of media companies from across North Carolina finally had enough of Governor Roy Cooper’s refusal to be transparent. The media coalition filed a lawsuit against Governor Cooper and his agencies to force the Cooper administration to comply with North Carolina's Public Records Act for 26 outstanding public records requests.  

Cooper has a long history of refusing to provide public records in a timely manner in apparent attempts to hide his many blunders. But this is truly a new low in his battle against transparency. This is the very data Cooper claims he bases all of the decisions on to keep the North Carolina economy largely shuttered.

Last week, Dr. Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force called NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen with concerns about the state’s coronavirus response. The Cooper administration attempted to obfuscate Dr. Birx’s message in the call, but Congressman Greg Murphy publicly revealed the true substance of Dr. Birx’s conversation with Cohen. According to Murphy, Dr. Birx called to find out what systematic issues were plaguing North Carolina's response to COVID 19. This new information explains why the Cooper administration adamantly refuses to follow North Carolina's Public Records Act. Cooper's administration knows there is a problem, but Cooper is hiding the data to hide his failures. 

“We should not have to say this, but Governor Cooper should immediately comply with the Public Records Act and release all the data," said NCGOP Spokesman Tim Wigginton. "Revealing the data may endanger his political life, but Cooper’s refusal to provide the media and public all the Covid-19 data is truly endangering the health and lives of the people of North Carolina. Governor Cooper, do the right thing and put the people of North Carolina first."

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