Leaks to Republican ally prompt calls for labor board member to resign

Alleged breaches warrant congressional investigation, lawmaker says.

Recent reports by the inspector general for the National Labor Relations Board have stepped up calls for Congress to investigate the legality of a board member’s decision to share internal documents with a former colleague who advised Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

Recently appointed NLRB member Terrence Flynn, according to a March inspector general report based on internal emails, released “deliberative, predecisional information” to Romney labor adviser Peter Schaumber, a former NLRB chairman whom Flynn served as counsel, and another former board member, Peter Kirsanow.

The disclosures took place in 2010 and 2011, before Flynn joined the board but while he was serving as NLRB counsel to another board member. The email exchanges between Flynn and former colleagues in 2010 and 2011 discussed the processing of cases, including a draft of a board majority decision and four dissents that had not been issued.

On May 2, NLRB Inspector General David Berry issued a supplemental report providing additional emails on the document disclosure after noting Flynn “made certain public statements that caused us concern and we determined it was necessary to continue our investigative efforts.”

The IG said Flynn violated the standards of conduct for the executive branch and “lacked candor” during the probe. His disclosures threatened the board’s due process and the IG found “that Mr. Flynn violated federal regulations.” Berry asked NLRB to review the facts and sent his report to the Office of Special Counsel to determine whether there were Hatch Act violations.

Flynn, whom President Obama named as a recess appointment in January and who spent the previous seven years on the NLRB staff, has maintained that that his actions constitute “legitimate outreach,” and, when interviewed by the IG, “implied that he has inherent authority to release deliberative information.”

Flynn’s attorney on May 2 wrote to the IG saying there was no evidence that board deliberations were compromised and the emails were simply a dialogue between former colleagues.

“We strenuously object to the `renewed’ investigation of Mr. Flynn and to the purported findings set forth in the supplemental report,” the attorney wrote. “Indeed, the entire course and conduct of this investigation, much of which is unprecedented, raises serious questions as to its objectivity, impartiality, independence and intended purpose. Mr. Flynn is a dedicated public servant with an outstanding record of performance at the National Labor Relations Board . . He has cooperated voluntarily with both of your interviews.”

The IG suggested that Flynn’s motive in releasing the documents was to help his own long-term prospects for appointment to the board.

“Giving information to any individual outside the board that would be withheld from a congressional oversight process is not appropriate,” Berry wrote. “We are not aware of any legitimate federal purpose that is served by giving former member Schaumber advance notice of how a case is going to be decided, when a vote is going to take place, or the priorities of the board.”

NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce said in a statement, “We take the findings in these reports very seriously. They raise questions of ethics and trust that go to the heart of the values shared by all of us at the NLRB. Those concerns are paramount in our minds as we consider the necessary response.”

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., ranking member on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, has asked the Justice Department to look at the case and sent Flynn a letter Wednesday asking him to resign, as did Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.“Disclosing judges’ deliberations in pending cases to outside parties . . . is repugnant to the American justice system. Such behavior cannot be allowed to continue,” Miller wrote.

“The board is the only agency where workers and employers may go to have their rights under the National Labor Relations Act vindicated,” he said. “The public’s faith in this agency and its fair administration of the law matters. Your continued presence at the board rattles that faith and potentially infringes upon the due process rights of those with business before the board.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called for Republicans who run his committee to open an investigation. The IG’s reports raise “serious concerns,” he said in a statement. But “even more troubling is that House Republicans refuse to investigate these leaks, bury their heads in the sand and continue to ignore documented wrongdoing by Republican NLRB officials. This is not the even-handed and rigorous congressional oversight the American people expect and deserve.”

Jon Ross, an attorney who retired from NLRB last fall, said Flynn should have known better. “I'm very surprised by this whole episode, because Terry is a smart guy - smart enough, I would have thought, to have known better than either (1) to do what the IG's reports say he did or (2) to have used his office email to do it,” he said.

The Romney campaign did not respond to queries, but The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that Schaumber ended his role with the campaign in December 2011.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.