Dean feared a 'Horton' scenario
In the course of negotiating an unprecedented 10-year period for keeping his official papers confidential, former Vermont governor Howard Dean through his legal counsel explored the possibility of making the privacy period contingent on whether he was running for president, according to newly released documents.
Discussions between the counsel and the state archivist about a potentially longer sealing period centered around the possibility that a future political opponent of Dean's might seize on a document and use it as ammunition, according to the correspondence.
State archivist Gregory Sanford noted that in the talks a primary concern was "the `Willie Horton' example," referring to the furloughed Massachusetts prisoner whose crimes surfaced as an issue in the 1988 contest between Vice President George H.W. Bush and Michael S. Dukakis.
A seal longer than 10 years would have significantly eclipsed periods sought by previous Vermont governors, who traditionally received six-year seals for their official papers.
Dean, who left the governor's office in January 2003 and is now seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, agreed in the end to a decade-long seal -- with no extension -- for nearly half of his official correspondence, meaning the documents will be available for public viewing in 2013. Shortly before he left office, Dean told Vermont Public Radio, "Well, there are future political considerations. We didn't want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time in any future endeavor."
In an interview with the Globe in July, he said in response to a request that he waive the seal, "No, it's sealed for a reason."
The conservative Washington-based watchdog group Judicial Watch last week called on Dean to release the documents and said it is exploring possible legal action.
Dean's legal counsel, David Rocchio, said in an interview yesterday that the idea of extending the seal beyond 10 years was first suggested by the Vermont secretary of state's office and, "In the interest of brainstorming we put it on the table."
But, he said, the idea was quickly dismissed by both the governor's office and the state archivist.
Sanford could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The correspondence from 2002 between Rocchio and Sanford, released this week after review by the state attorney general's office, make clear that Sanford opposed the 10-year seal and argued against allowing the seal to be extended if Dean ran for president or won the office.
"The open records law . . . declares `it is in the public interest to enable any person to review and criticize [the officers of government] decisions even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment.' So the scenario we were discussing -- use of the gubernatorial records to embarrass a national campaign -- is one not recognized by Vermont law," Sanford wrote in an Aug. 21, 2002 letter to Dean's legal counsel.
Rocchio responded in writing the next day, "We have a legitimate concern about early disclosure of privileged material given the misuse -- some of it mentioned in your letter -- and the systemic problems early release will create for the thoughtful carrying on of Government in the future.. . . We are not at all interested in setting new barriers to access."
Sarah Schweitzer can be reached at schweitzer@globe.com. 