Critics Question Why Arkansas State Treasurer Deletes So Many Emails

State Treasurer Dennis Milligan has responded to recent news reports on events during his campaign for office by claiming that the emails that are the basis of the reports cannot be verified because his campaign deleted all its emails after the election. Milligan’s office also instituted a policy last month of requiring employees to delete all emails after 30 days. Officials say the same policy is in place at the secretary of state’s office and the attorney general’s office, and it does not violate any state laws — though critics question whether it is necessary and whether it is consistent with the spirit of open government.

Jim Harris, Milligan’s chief of staff, told the Arkansas News Bureau the treasurer’s office adopted the policy because “after a while your email gets to where it’s a humongous amount of information.”

Laura Labay, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Mark Martin, said Martin’s office has the same policy because without regular deletion of emails, “our in-boxes just fill up and we don’t have enough room.” She also said the policy predates Martin’s term in office.