© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Oregon Governor Says Whistleblower Should Not Be Prosecuted

Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Wikimedia
Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown said the state IT manager who leaked thousands of her predecessor's emails should not be prosecuted.

Michael Rodgers said recently that he's the person who turned over the emails to the Willamette Week newspaper. That action came after aides to then-Governor John Kitzhaber asked that the emails be deleted from state servers.

Brown said in a recorded statement that there's no public interest in prosecuting Rodgers.

"Instead of wasting public time and resources pursuing charges in this case, I would rather focus on rebuilding trust and accountability in state government,” the governor said.

The decision is ultimately in the hands of the Marion County District Attorney's office. Rodgers is currently on paid administrative leave. Kitzhaber resigned in February amid a criminal ethics investigation, which is still ongoing.

Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.