Nassau lawmakers OK $1.7M in legal defense funds against Newsday lawsuit

Lawmakers voted on Monday to spend up to $1.7 million in taxpayer money to hire private lawyers to defend Nassau County against a lawsuit from Newsday.

 Newsday sued Nassau County in January after claiming officials blocked reporters from press emails, ignored their questions and denied them access to public information. The outlet claimed that Nassau officials violated Newsday's First Amendment rights by naming the New York Post Nassau’s "official" newspaper in retaliation for Newsday’s coverage of the administration.

Newsday is seeking damages for lost revenue from public notices no longer being published in the paper, which totaled about $221,000 last year. County officials said Nassau’s public attorneys are not equipped to handle the lawsuit, instead requiring special expertise from a private firm.

"It’s disgraceful that a media outlet would bring such a frivolous and unfounded lawsuit against the County of Nassau, claiming a perpetual entitlement to taxpayer money — which is all this lawsuit is about," Chris Boyle, a spokesman for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who made the formal request to the legislature, said in a statement. Blakeman, Nassau County and the county's legislature are named in the lawsuit.

Newsday said county officials are spending taxpayer dollars to intimidate media organizations that cover its administration critically and withholding information the public has a right to know. 

"Newsday needs to ensure that all media outlets have equal access to all information essential to our audiences," Newsday publisher Debby Krenek said in a statement. "The residents of Nassau County have the right to transparency from their government officials, and taxpayer dollars should never be used to intimidate the press."  Newsday spokesperson Tara Rogers did not respond to questions about which firm it hired and how much it had spent on legal fees.

Newsday published more than 1,600 articles about Nassau last year, compared to 155 published by the Post, according to the lawsuit. Nearly twice as many Nassau residents read Newsday than read the Post, the suit alleges, citing data from February through October of last year.

The county hired Manhattan-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a law firm with Democratic political ties.

 Doug Emhoff is a partner in the firm and married to former Vice President Kamala Harris. Timothy Heaphy, who led the House investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, also is a partner at the firm.

Neither Nassau’s comptroller nor its financial watchdog have approved the contract, which has committed $750,000 and has a maximum of $1.7 million. County Attorney Thomas Adams signed the contract on March 14 without such legally mandated approvals. Nassau has historically circumvented local law when hiring private lawyers, Newsday has reported.

The Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the county's financial watchdog, is auditing its spending on these firms.

"We’ve got some real concerns about the amount of outside counsel the county has used," Richard Kessel, president of NIFA, told Newsday. The county has not sent the Willkie Farr & Gallagher contract to NIFA, nor requested the necessary waiver required to start work before getting the proper approvals, Kessel said.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher attorneys charge anywhere from $1,400 an hour to more than $2,200 an hour, according to the contract. The firm gained attention last month when it cut a deal with President Donald Trump to avoid sanctions from the government, promising at least $100 million in free legal services to support veterans and fight antisemitism.

Outsourcing legal work to private lawyers has become more common in Nassau under Blakeman, who has more than tripled spending on outside attorneys — awarding $20 million of taxpayer money for such firms last year, Newsday previously reported. Blakeman has said the county has seen "stellar results" thanks to such private lawyers, claiming they have saved Nassau $400 million in financial liability from lawsuits. 

Suffolk County has budgeted about $3 million each year for private firms, Newsday reported.

 Boyle did not respond to Newsday's questions on why Blakeman specifically sought the firm. Assistant County Attorney Mary Nori issued a memo on March 5 saying the county did "not currently have the capacity or expertise to handle this matter in-house," calling on the expertise of Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s Media & First Amendment Group. The firm has represented various newsrooms and resolved "high-stakes federal/state litigations," according to its website.

The county’s Democratic minority criticized Blakeman’s decision in a statement Monday.

"Only in Bruce Blakeman’s Nassau County does it make sense to spend nearly $2 million of taxpayer money fighting over a $200,000 expense," Nassau County Legis. Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) wrote. "This isn’t fiscal conservatism — it’s fiscal insanity."

The lawsuit was the center of discussion on Monday at a Nassau County Legislature meeting, where lawmakers debated the merits of the contract.

"This particular contract shocks the conscience," Nassau County Legis. Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview) said. "Can you explain to me why the county attorney’s office can’t handle this in house?"

"Our expertise is in motor vehicle cases," replied Brian Libert, Bureau Chief of Legal Counsel for the county attorney’s office. "It’s really not something within our wheelhouse."

Correction: Brian Libert, an attorney working for Nassau County government, said at the Nassau County Legislature on Monday that the county specializes in motor vehicle and civil rights cases. An earlier version of this article misquoted Libert.