CDC’s private attorneys ask to suspend probe
Officials with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention have hired private attorneys who are asking state officials to suspend an investigation into the destruction of public documents at the agency.
The Sun Journal reported that attorneys Eric Uhl and Jonathan Shapiro have asked the state’s Government Oversight Committee to hold off on legislative action until a civil case involving former CDC employee Sharon Leahy-Lind and department officials is resolved. The private attorneys took on the case after the Office of the Attorney General asked to withdraw from defending CDC Director Sheila Pinette and the department after what it called an “unexpected development.” The AG’s office has not publicly explained that development.
Leahy-Lind, a former director of the CDC’s Division of Local Public Health, claims she was told to destroy public records related to the award of $4.7 million for regional health programs. The state’s Office of Program Evaluation and Government Oversight found evidence supporting Leahy-Lind’s claim in December.
The private attorneys also requested that the legislative committee not seek testimony from any CDC employees because such hearings “may compromise our ability to fully and properly defend the DHHS against the disputed claims being asserted in the lawsuit.”
The committee, which could legally compel testimony of CDC employees involved in the investigation, will meet again Friday to discuss whether to continue its investigation.
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