The SBA originally claimed Sutherland only had 73 emails in March. The ASBL appealed
the request and the SBA then acknowledged he actually had over 2,000
emails. When the ASBL finally received Sutherland's 2000 emails, several had been redacted.
After
analyzing Sutherland's emails, the ASBL believes the SBA is still
withholding a significant number of the documents. ASBL President Lloyd Chapman has been the SBA's harshest critic issuing several press releases and blogs a month criticizing the fraud that has been uncovered
in SBA programs. None of the emails released by the SBA makes any
mention of Chapman or the ASBL. The ASBL believes the SBA is withholding
any of Sutherland's emails that would reveal the SBA's campaign to discourage journalists from writing about fraud at the SBA.
Several
of Sutherland's emails seem to indicate he does not physically work at
the SBA headquarters, but actually works out of his home. Sutherland's
emails also indicate he is still closely connected to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) where he was head of Corporate Communications.
The ASBL believes Sutherland took over the SBA Press Office in April 2013
to reduce media coverage of the Obama Administration's plan to quietly
dismantle the agency. President Obama initially tried to close the SBA
by combining it with the Department of Commerce. That plan was derailed after the ASBL launched a national campaign to expose the plan to shutter the agency. The Obama Administration dropped their plan to close the SBA after several journalists published stories agreeing with Chapman that President Obama was actually trying to close the agency.
"It's
obvious the SBA Press Office is attempting to block stories on the
Obama Administrations plan to close the agency. They are also trying to
kill any media coverage of the rampant fraud at the SBA that has been
uncovered by the GAO, the SBA's own Inspector General and the mainstream
media," Chapman stated.
News organizations such as NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC and RTTV have all reported on the fraud in SBA managed programs.
The ASBL plans to file suit in the Federal District Court in San Francisco to force the SBA to release all of Terry Sutherlands emails in their entirety.
Watch new ASBL documentary trailer.
SOURCE American Small Business LeagueDo you have a story to tell? Contact 'Let's Hear You!' and let us know! news@letshearyou.com