The political class has managed to thwart a full investigation of 38 Studios, and is now simply running out the clock. Such tactics are often the case when scandal engulfs Rhode Island.
Last week, a judge threw up the latest roadblock to full disclosure, refusing to release records related to the 38 Studios grand jury probe. Superior Court Judge Alice Gibney ruled that protections afforded to the innocent by grand jury secrecy took precedence over the public’s right to know in this case.
That leaves the public without any detailed knowledge of what the state police and Attorney General Peter Kilmartin discovered when they investigated — on the public’s dime — 38 Studios, the poorly vetted deal Rhode Island made with former Red Sox star Curt Schilling’s video game company, which later went bankrupt, costing taxpayers dearly. Indeed, the public has now been left with no means to determine whether that investigation was thoughtful, thorough and serious.
The state police and Mr. Kilmartin, who is no fan of public disclosure, announced last summer that they had concluded their investigation and found no evidence of lawbreaking. Here’s what they offered the public by way of details: Nothing.
This year, under intense public pressure, state police released some material on their investigation. But the records were filled with redactions and missing chunks of information, such as interviews with state senators. Material forwarded to a grand jury was also evidently stripped out.
“We’re not going to comment, beyond what’s out in the report,” Laura Meade Kirk, a state police mouthpiece, said when asked about some of the glaring omissions and odd revelations.
Gov. Gina Raimondo, meanwhile, seems to be engaging in an increasingly habitual practice of playing both sides of the issue.
She joined in urging the judge to release the grand jury records to the public, and professed to be disappointed in the ruling.
Yet, at the same time, she has broken her campaign pledge to commission a thorough and independent investigation of the 38 Studios debacle. Her administration initially said it would be inappropriate to do so while the state was in the midst of court fights with participants. Now the story is that a study would be expensive and would not yield any new information.
And politicians wonder why Rhode Island citizens are so cynical.
In truth, an independent autopsy of this disaster would reveal information that could be very helpful to the state as it goes forward, particularly as it spends tens of millions of dollars a year on economic development. The report might explore: How did our elected officials fail us? Why is Rhode Island susceptible to such catastrophes? What procedures should be put in place to better protect the public?
Unfortunately, Rhode Island will remain a political backwater, and face a great struggle attracting economic development, as long as it sustains its political culture of circling the wagons against disclosure. A state that repeatedly and stubbornly hides the truth from its own citizens, and has no interest in learning from political disasters and holding leaders accountable, is not one prone to build trust.
We hope that, in the wake of this disappointing court ruling, the governor will reconsider her opposition to an independent study.