California state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) on Wednesday accused Cal State Stanislaus officials of violating the public trust by failing to disclose documents about an upcoming fundraising appearance by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Yee has asked the state attorney general to investigate.
Yee and the nonprofit group Californians Aware filed public records requests with the university last week seeking documents relating to Palin’s appearance at the school’s 50th anniversary gala June 25, particularly how much she is being paid to speak. A campus official said there were no such documents. But Yee’s office acquired a March 29 e-mail sent by a university vice president about the Palin appearance, which Yee said should have been disclosed.
The university responded Wednesday that it did not provide the campus e-mail because it was circulated to faculty and staff and that the public records request excluded documents prepared for public release.
— Carla Rivera