SBA Refusing to Release Press Office Director Terry Sutherland's Emails

PETALUMA, Calif., Aug. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Small Business Administration (SBA) is refusing to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request for the emails of Press Office Director Terry Sutherland.

On April 9, 2014 the American Small Business League (ASBL) submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the SBA for all of all of Terry Sutherland's emails for the month of March 2014.

On April 10, the ASBL received a conference call from SBA Assistant Administrator Fred Baldassaro, Terry Sutherland and another unnamed SBA staffer.  During their conference call they claimed Terry Sutherland had "thousands of emails."  They attempted to dissuade the ASBL from requesting all of Sutherland's emails because of the significant volume of emails he sent and received during the month of March.

To expedite and simplify their FOIA request the ASBL agreed to modify their FOIA request to only include Sutherland's outgoing emails as opposed to the "thousands" they claimed would be applicable to the original FOIA request.

After thirteen weeks the SBA finally provided the ASBL with just 73 of Terry Sutherland's emails. On July 15, 2014 the ASBL appealed the SBA's response to their FOIA request.  The SBA responded on July 30 and acknowledged the 73 emails they provided did not actually constitute all of Sutherland's outgoing emails, but just his external emails.  The SBA has now agreed to provide all of Sutherland's internal and external outgoing emails for the month of March 2014.

The ASBL requested Terry Sutherland's emails because they believed his emails would uncover a clear pattern by the SBA Press Office to block media coverage of the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses and a coordinated campaign to attack the ASBL, impugn their credibility and attack the reputation of ASBL President Lloyd Chapman.

Chapman stated, "The SBA is putting up so much resistance to releasing all of Terry Sutherland's emails because they would prove he and his staff have engaged in a systematic campaign to block media coverage of the rampant fraud and abuse at the Pentagon and the SBA that has been uncovered by the SBA Inspector General, the GAO and the media."

NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox and RTTV have all reported on the fraud and abuses in SBA managed programs.

An SBA press release stated, "Terry Sutherland reported as the Director, Press Office, U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C. in April 2013…  Prior to this assignment he served from 2009-2013 as the Director, Corporate Communications, for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA)…"

The ASBL believes Sutherland's emails may show he is still closely associated with the Pentagon's efforts to try and obscure abuses in Pentagon small business subcontracting programs such as the Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program.

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SOURCE American Small Business League