State officials probe Jindal blog

• By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jul 31, 2009 - Page: 1A

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State officials are looking into a complaint that the Jindal administration is breaking the law by using taxpayer money to publish an Internet blog.

At issue is whether “The Ledger” is purely informational or rises to political commentary.

Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot and Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said they are investigating the blog at the request of state Sen. Robert Adley.

“We’re going to do some due diligence to take a look at it,” Theriot said.

Adley, R-Benton, contends that Gov. Bobby Jindal is using taxpayer money to pay for a political blog. State law prohibits the use of tax dollars for personal political purposes.

Jindal’s Division of Administration, which publishes the blog, counters that the postings are designed to explain the state budget to the public.

“The Ledger’s stated purpose and its actual use and operation are widely different. Reviews of postings show a clear political agenda,” the senator wrote to Theriot, Caldwell and others last month.

The division’s general counsel, Pamela Miller Perkins, disagrees.

“If a bit of exuberance in metaphor and anecdote has caused some to question propriety, or even legality of some Ledger content, then a word of caution seems appropriate. Nevertheless, The Ledger has not violated any of the cited statutes,” Perkins wrote the state Attorney General’s Office last week.

The division’s communications director, Michael DiResto, hasn’t posted an entry to The Ledger since July 1. He said there is “no particular reason” for the lag in entries.

In his correspondence to state and local officials, Adley included a list of laws that he believes the blog violates, including one punishable by jail time.

He cited laws that draw a line between public funds and politics, such as a statute prohibiting state employees from lobbying the Legislature.

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said he is waiting to hear from state officials on whether there is anything criminal about the blog.