Recall Radio Show Removed
This comes amidst continuing tensions between McEntire and the Executive over the issue of accountability.
Written by ICH and Edited by HEM
While a resolution to the dispute with The Rejected Realms over protected information has formally come to an end with a joint agreement, questions still linger about whether private litigation will be filed over the recent removal of a radio show in which Senator McEntire — who only recently survived a recall vote over his aggressive oversight actions — starred as a guest and may have revealed privileged information. Here's what happened:
The radio show that was pulled was about the issues surrounding the eventual petition to recall Senator McEntire. Given a lot has changed just in a few days, the show was meant to provide commentary on what had been happening to lead up to the petition and where the region stood at the time of the show. Given oversight was a big question, it was inevitable that the hearing ongoing would be mentioned tangentially but unfortunately some things that were said crossed into more private areas that weren’t publicly available elsewhere.
On the 24th of June, the Minister of Radio JayDee announced that as per the directives of the Executive, the radio show had been pulled off Spotify and it did not take long for more details to be revealed. President Pland Adanna noted "security reasons" as the factor behind this decision since there were concerns over the breach of confidentiality in the briefings with the Senate. FMcEntire later revealed that their post was edited to remove the link to the radio show, sparking questions over the legality of this action carried out by the Forum Administrators at the Government's request.
McEntire re-affirmed their belief that the information cited by themselves in the show was obtainable from public sources, and so maintained that the question of revealing "protected information" does not arise. However, this didn’t stop some members including Senator Prim from criticizing McEntire for being involved in such a radio especially when the issue at hand had not been concluded yet.
Prim noted, “IRL discussions tend to be looser and less thought goes behind them versus a post on the forum. I for sure wouldn't want to be openly discussing this issue in a radio show and not clearly realize where the line between legitimate speech and release of confidential information is.” Prim opined that even though the host, Minister of Radio JayDee, was himself a member of the Senate, it would be difficult for any Senator involved in the briefing to “immediately pick up on some small thing that wasn't publicly released.”
On the 28th of June, Attorney General Lloenflys detailed his stance on the filing of prospective cases in his official capacity. Lloen concluded that a case should not be filed against McEntire taking into account the "practicalities associated with this case" even though "a plausible case could be made that information was released that was gained from non-public sources which fit the definition of Protected or Classified."
This, however, didn't stop him from criticizing McEntire for placing themselves in a position where confidential information naturally may come up and for reposting the radio show despite knowing that the radio show has been removed which further escalated the dispute. Additionally, Lloenflys announced that a case against DEIA Kazaman would not be initiated by the government as the criminal provision applies to "Moderators" and "Administrators", which Kazaman is not. In this case, he said that "any charge would need to be made against Sopo" but he also did not suggest bringing cases against Sopo as the action carried out by Sopo was "consistent with routine administrator procedure to act upon the request of members of the executive" and thus, an argument of acting under "just cause" could be made.
When contacted by the EBC for their view on the events surrounding the removal of the radio show, McEntire said, "Everything said on the show was entirely appropriate and based on public information. I am disappointed it was taken down and that my post was edited without my consent in a clear abuse of executive power. This should not happen to another Europeian in the future, and it’s not something we should let slide." It now remains to be seen if McEntire will take further action on this issue or the broader issue of executive oversight.
