Indiana University Pays $161k for Jean Camp

Four months ago, I began submitting Open Records requests to Indiana University, an institution notoriously stingy when it comes to providing records. This was the first step in an effort I’m willing to go the mats for in order to get documents we are owed.

First, they lied to me.

My request was for “..Any invoices submitted to [Indiana] University by L. Jean Camp for payment of legal services from 2016 through 2021,” as well as “…any associated expense reports, emails, analysis, and approvals from University officials over the payment of her legal expenses.”

The response from them was “Jean Camp did not submit invoices to our office for payment of legal services. Therefore, we do not have any records to provide.”

The sentence may technically be true (I’m working to get more details on the arrangement), but the statute only requires that the documents be described to a reasonable degree, and regardless of who submitted the invoices, they knew what documents I was after. They had paid 21 invoices on a monthly basis.

I consider that a lie.

I already knew about the payment arrangement, so I threw it in their face and lo and behold, they decided to process my request.

L. Jean Camp as you may recall, was one of the first researchers publicly identified in the Slate article in October 2016. She then hosted portions of the data purporting to support a debunked narrative of a secret communications channel between Trump and Putin, i.e., the Alfa Bank allegations.

I have obtained 21 invoices totaling nearly $161,000 in legal expenses paid for by Indiana University and effectively, the taxpayers of Indiana. I am working to remove the redactions and obtain additional files.

This establishes ownership of Jean Camp’s work product subjecting her to legal expenses, and creates a clear need for all relevant documents to be produced under Open Records law.

Multiple inquiries to Indiana University’s media relations department for comment on this went unanswered.

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This is another odd chapter in the history of the Alfa Bank allegations story, and adds to the inexplicable payment of legal expenses.

Rodney Joffe has sued Neustar for $2.6 million for reimbursement of his legal expenses. David Dagon has sought reimbursement of over $500,000 in legal expenses from the State of Georgia, the status of that is somewhat murky. Manos Antonakakis has had over $100,000 paid for by Georgia Tech. And now, L. Jean Camp has had nearly $161,000 paid for by Indiana University.

Public agencies have effectively claimed ownership of their employee’s actions, and all relevant records must be public record. No taxpayer on the hook for these costs should have to ask what the hell happened.

I am proud to be perhaps the only journalist pursuing these answers.

It hasn’t been easy.

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Here are the invoices, hoping to remove the redactions soon:

https://docdro.id/isJjuTj