On Monday, May 21, 2018, attorneys for Don Blankenship filed a motion with the court to release even more records that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) wants to keep secret.
This new filing by Don’s attorneys follows a motion previously filed to vacate Don’s conviction based on the mountains of evidence improperly withheld from him at trial. Following that filing the current U.S. Attorney discovered even more relevant documents that MSHA had never provided to Don’s defense. Now the U.S. Attorney has informed Don’s attorneys that dozens more documents and emails are still being withheld by MSHA. The motion filed Monday asks the court to review these documents and decide whether they will be turned over to Don.
Separately, MSHA employee performance reviews were recently provided to Don by the Department of Justice showing that multiple MSHA supervisors received positive reviews for their performance in 2009 and 2010. But other performance reviews that had previously been hidden show that these same inspectors were disciplined for bad conduct related to the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine explosion. This is yet another of many examples of the illegal actions MSHA has taken to avoid the public finding out all the facts about UBB. The government’s efforts to scapegoat Don are methodically falling apart as the evidence of the government’s prosecution misconduct continues to mount. Don will continue to fight to get to the truth so that today’s coal miners can be made safer and the government’s false claim that the UBB miners killed themselves is exposed.
On a separate note Don was pleased that Fox news commentator Judge Napolitano admitted on YOUR WORLD WITH NEIL CAVUTO last night that Don is not a felon as he had inaccurately said that Don was. Don is hopeful that other Fox news associates and other media outlets will follow the Judge’s example and admit too that they have falsely said Don is a felon. It would be refreshing if the media, which greatly damaged Don’s campaign for US Senate, would correct the record so that voters can make an informed choice when deciding who to vote for this fall.