GA – Blanchard v Obama
Timeline
- 11/28/2011 - FOIA letter sent to GA SOS Kemp
- 12/08/2011 - Letter sent to GA SOS Kemp. Forwarded to OSAH under OCGA 21.2.5 and dismissed. No further information on the OSAH ruling
- 12/29/2011 - Letter requesting Special Grand Jury sent to Judge
- 12/30/2011 – Letter from Judge informing Blanchard as to how to properly file
- 01/10/2012 – Blanchard sends letter in response to Judge’s letter
On November 28, 2011, M.J. Blanchard sent a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Kemp, requesting access to documents related to placing President Obama on the Georgia primary for 2012. I am surprised that he did not request documents for 2008 as well since there is a likelihood that the SOS had yet to qualify President Obama and thus such documents may not have been available. When Kemp did not respond within the statutory 3 day period, Blanchard sent him a letter filing an election complaint. The complaint was forwarded to the OSAH and dismissed but no information as to reason for dismissal has so far been made available. Undeterred, Blanchard sent a letter to a Superior Court Judge, asking the convening of a Special Grand Jury, rather than following the statutory pathway as explained in Georgia’s Open Records Act after his FOIA request had been ignored.
Blanchard explains that the SOS interpreted his request as a challenge under GA election code and forwarded the complaint to the OSAH, which was subsequently dismissed. While Kemp’s lawyer responded, Blanchard has not made available the documents.
Of his efforts to determine whether or not Obama was vetted, Blanchard told The Post & Email, “I took a different approach to the ballot challenge in that I challenged the SOS for putting Obama on the ballot without qualifications. I used his lack of response to my FOIA as proof that he had nothing to qualify Obama with. His attorney did respond, after about a month, but sent irrelevant information concerning filing but no bona fides. The SOS shuffled my complaint off to an administrative sub-set of the judiciary (OSAH) as Blanchard v. Obama. The case was dismissed and sent back to the SOS. The SOS has not responded so I have filed the petition for grand jury. The key to my complaint is found in OSGA 21-2-5 (a) & (c).”
Furthermore, I find no logic in the statement to Kemp
“Your lack of response implies that you have nothing, which makes it quite clear that Barack Obama was not qualified before placement on the Georgia ballot…”
If Blanchard believes that the response is evidence of absence rather than a non-response then, rather than writing a letter to a judge, he should have followed the procedures outlined in Georgia’s Open Records Law, O.C.G.A. 50-18-73, which require a case to be filed with the GA Superior Court:
(a) The superior courts of this state shall have jurisdiction in law and in equity to entertain actions against persons or agencies having custody of records open to the public under this article to enforce compliance with the provisions of this article. Such actions may be brought by any person, firm, corporation, or other entity.
(b) In any action brought to enforce the provisions of this chapter in which the court determines that either party acted without substantial justification either in not complying with this chapter or in instituting the litigation, the court shall, unless it finds that special circumstances exist, assess in favor of the complaining party reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. Whether the position of the complaining party was substantially justified shall be determined on the basis of the record as a whole which is made in the proceeding for which fees and other expenses are sought.
(c) Any agency or person who provides access to information in good faith reliance on the requirements of this chapter shall not be liable in any action on account of having provided access to such information.
The Superior Court Judge had no choice but to inform Blanchard of his mistakes, and Blanchard responded somewhat unkindly.
