Gov. Peter Shumlin might be under investigation by the state’s Adult Protective Services program, but the contents of that investigation may never come to light.
Attorney General William Sorrell two weeks ago disclosed on WDEV’s “The Mark Johnson Show” that he had referred citizen complaints about Shumlin to the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, which investigates claims of exploiting vulnerable adults.
The issue at hand is whether Shumlin exploited his neighbor, Jeremy Dodge, and whether Dodge is a vulnerable adult, as defined in state statute. Six months after Dodge sold his family homestead to Shumlin for less than half of its appraised value, the high school dropout and ex-con claimed he did not know what he was doing. Since then, Shumlin has hired former Vermont Attorney General Jerry Diamond to represent him in the land-deal negotiations, and Brady Toensing, a lawyer Republican operative, is representing Dodge.
Assistant Attorney General Stuart Schurr, who works at the department, would neither confirm nor deny the investigation. Meanwhile, Diamond told the Vermont Press Bureau’s Peter Hirschfeld two weeks ago that he had been in contact with the department, and Shumlin told WCAX’s Kristin Carlson that he welcomes the investigation, as he feels he has done nothing wrong.
But unless the state’s investigation results in court action, the public will never know what, if anything, it revealed.
“Any information gathered in connection with an investigation is confidential absent a court order,” Schurr said, pointing to Vermont Statute Title 33, Section 6911, which protects abuse investigations from public purview.
Sorrell confirmed the private nature of the probe.
“If it’s found that the alleged vulnerable adult is one not vulnerable or that there has been no finding of exploitation of that person, then the law is pretty clear that even the fact of the investigation would remain confidential to protect everyone’s privacy,” he said.
The commissioner of the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living is a governor-appointed position.
“I think there needs to be a sensitivity to that, and I’m confident that there is a sensitivity to that,” Sorrell said.
Sorrell said a similar situation could arise if a governor were under investigation by the Vermont State Police, as the governor appoints the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. But, he said, the state’s regulatory authorities should be given the opportunity to carry out their designated responsibilities.
“Clearly, under our laws, the governor is not immune from needing to adhere to our laws,” Sorrell said.
