(Updated below with response from the governor’s office)
Two Republican state senators announced Wednesday they will seek the power to subpoena records related to the mistakes that led to the early release of 3,200 inmates since 2002.
Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, and Sen. Steve O’Ban, R-University Place, sent a notified Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of their intentions in a letter sent Wednesday night.
“We have an obligation as independent elected officials to determine what happened here. And we can only conclude it will take a subpoena to do it,” Padden said in a statement.
Republican leaders will discuss the matter at a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. The issue is bound to come up at Inslee’s previously scheduled news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday.
The Senate Law and Justice Committee held a hearing Monday on the sentencing calculation errors that allowed the mistaken release of inmates. The Department of Corrections has linked the deaths of two people with two convicted criminals after they were let out too soon.
Corrections Secretary Dan Pacholke testified to the committee but could not answer questions about the investigation launched by Inslee that is being conducted by two retired federal prosecutors.
Jaime Smith, spokeswoman for Gov. Jay Inslee, said in a statement Thursday morning that everything the investigators produce “will be available for review, consistent with the governor’s pledge for transparency.”
“From the start, our administration has cooperated fully with the Legislature and we will continue to do that,” she said. Legislative leaders were briefed before the news was made public, the investigators spoke with Senator Padden, and Secretary Pacholke has been forthcoming with information. The governor’s general counsel has been accessible to lawmakers and their staff and providing information to those who asked.
“Unfortunately, Senate Republicans are engaged in a dishonest, publicity-seeking campaign. This has been obvious since the moment the governor blew the whistle on this,” she wrote. “If the senators wanted more information about the investigation during the hearing, they should have invited someone from our office to their hearing. They never did that.”
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