Shasta Scout sues Shasta County for federal subpoena issued to Curtis

Shasta Scout has filed a lawsuit against Shasta County for refusing to release a federal grand jury subpoena issued to Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis this past September.

Statewide news agency CalMatters is joining in the lawsuit, and the First Amendment Coalition is representing both agencies in the suit. 

The lawsuit seeks the release of the subpoena under the California Public Records Act. Shasta County has so far refused release of the document, citing a federal law related to grand jury secrecy. 

Shasta Scout first learned of the subpoena through confidential sources, and Curtis later acknowledged the subpoena publicly. It was issued just two months after he began making claims that ballots from the June primary election didn’t feel, look or smell right, attracting federal attention.

According to Curtis, he was called to testify before a federal grand jury and bring with him thousands of voted ballots from the June election — an election he ran in and lost. Shasta Scout and CalMatters filed public records requests to obtain the document, but the county denied the request for both news organizations, saying subpoenas relating to grand jury proceedings are exempt from disclosure under federal law.

In response, First Amendment Coalition Legal Director David Loy sent Shasta County Counsel Joseph Larmour a letter on Sept. 25 clarifying the legitimacy of Shasta Scout’s request and demanding the county to disclose the subpoena or face imminent litigation. The county did not respond. 

Shasta Scout’s lawsuit against the county was filed today. A press release about the lawsuit posted by the First Amendment Coalition this afternoon explained the importance of obtaining the subpoena.

“Shasta Scout and CalMatters have closely reported on the ongoing controversies at the county’s elections office,” Loy said. “The county must disclose the subpoena so the people can see for themselves whether the grand jury investigation has any valid basis or is improperly contributing to unwarranted distrust in the integrity of elections.”

The First Amendment Coalition noted that Curtis’ subpoena is just one of a series of subpoenas issued to elections officials across the state, “some of which were part of the Trump administration’s effort to prove unsubstantiated claims about noncitizens voting in the state.” 

Echoing Loy’s call for release of the subpoena, Shasta Scout Executive Director and Managing Editor Annelise Pierce said Curtis’ efforts to attract federal attention to Shasta County only increase the importance of releasing a source document that appears to have been issued in response to his unproven claims of suspect ballots.

“Clint Curtis has embroiled Shasta County’s elections office in turmoil, conspiracy, and allegations of misconduct,” Pierce said. “The people have a right to know what a federal grand jury seeks from our top election official.” 

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