VA Governor Youngkin Faces Second Lawsuit over Tattle-On-A-Teacher Line

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is facing a second lawsuit over his administration’s repeated refusals to release records related to an email tip line he set up for parents to report school employees who teach “divisive” subjects.

Nonprofit ethics watchdog group American Oversight and the law firm Ballard Spahr filed the suit Monday in Arlington County Circuit Court. The suit seeks documents that show how Youngkin (R) and his staff used the tip line, including how they responded to tips submitted.

“What is the tip line’s true purpose and how has the Administration acted on these ‘tips’?” Heather Sawyer, executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement. “What is it about this program that they don’t want the public to see?”

Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter on Wednesday referred a request for comment to the state attorney general’s office. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Jason S. Miyares said the office does not comment on pending litigation.

The new lawsuit follows a suit filed in April by The Washington Post and a dozen other media outlets in Richmond Circuit Court. That suit, which is ongoing and whose other plaintiffs include the Associated Press, Tribune Publishing and NPR, seeks copies of submissions sent to the governor’s tip line.