Although former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore turned over 228 boxes of papers to the Library of Virginia November 17, accusatory letters exchanged afterward between lawyers for both parties suggest the months-long dispute over the papers isn’t over.
Gilmore’s lawyer, David E. Anderson, accused State Librarian Nolan T. Yelich of tainting Gilmore’s integrity by suggesting in a post-settlement memo to library staff that the former governor intentionally withheld public documents, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported December 4. “The fact that Mr. Yelich is the Librarian of Virginia does not give him license to maliciously tarnish the reputations of private citizens—even where a private citizen happens to be a former governor,” Anderson wrote.
Anthony F. Troy, counsel for the library, countered that Yelich’s statement was true, citing published remarks by Gilmore that “explicitly, impliedly, or reportedly denied the existence of certain records or suggested that the library should be searching elsewhere for them.”
Posted December 9, 2002.