The Clarion-Ledger Editorial, 8/5/8
Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law a bill that included regulations for blind trusts, so it shouldn’t even be an issue that his trust remain confidential.
He knew full well the stipulations he was signing into law, so why should he question – or seek to evade – it now?
Until legislators approved an overhaul of state ethics laws in the regular session that ended in April, Mississippi had no law regulating blind trusts, such as the type Barbour set up for himself before assuming office.
Now, Barbour’s attorney, Ed Brunini, told ethics commissioners Friday the documents were not intended to be public and it might show “his financial net worth.” He asked them not to adopt the rules immediately, and commissioners took no action. But several questioned if they could legally allow the documents to remain confidential.
“We’ll consider it,” Tom Hood, the commission’s executive director, said.
The answer should be obvious: Barbour should comply with the law.
