Amanda Patel questions city’s public account of records release as Scott Marshall, Councilman Josh Scallate respond during meeting
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Questions surrounding the City of Beaufort’s handling of last year’s Freedom of Information Act records breach returned to the forefront Tuesday as a resident, the city manager and a city council member publicly disputed key details about who received the email containing a download link to the unredacted records and how that information has been presented to the public.
The exchange came nearly a year after the city inadvertently released more than 9,000 unredacted records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The records included sensitive documents, including forensic interviews involving minors, and have prompted multiple investigations, public records requests and continued scrutiny over how the records were distributed and handled.
Patel questions city’s public account
During public comment, Beaufort resident Amanda Patel challenged the city’s account of the breach, telling council members that for nearly a year the public had been led to believe the unredacted records had been shared only with the original requester and Councilman Josh Scallate. She said records that have since become public show City Manager Scott Marshall and former Deputy City Manager JJ Suave also received the email containing the download link.
“For almost a year, the people of this city were led to believe that the city’s FOIA breach involving more than 9,000 unredacted pages was shared only with the original requester and Councilman Josh Scallate,” Patel said. “Less than two weeks ago, we learned there was more to this story. Our own city manager, Scott Marshall, and the former deputy city manager also received that very same link to those records.”
Patel said the facts surrounding the breach had not changed, “only the story,” referencing statements Marshall made during a February council meeting that she said continued the narrative that only the original requester and Scallate had received the records. She argued the official public record had never been corrected after it became known Marshall and Suave had also received the email containing the download link.
“I say this because the public record is important,” Patel said. “And what gets left out of the story matters just as much as what gets put into it.”
Patel also referenced another child’s unredacted forensic interview that she said was included in the released records and cited recent public comments from former City of Beaufort Public Information Officer Ashley Brandon, who said she would not serve as “the scapegoat for city leadership” in connection with the breach.
Before concluding, Patel posed two questions directly to council.
“Were you aware that Scott Marshall and JJ Suave received that FOIA link? If the answer is yes, when? Was it when I emailed y’all? When it got reported? Why has the public record yet to be corrected?” she asked.
Marshall, Scallate respond
Rather than responding immediately, Marshall addressed Patel’s remarks during his City Manager’s report later in the meeting.
“I admire Amanda Patel’s energy and her passion for the truth. I truly, truly do,” Marshall said. “But that does not give her license to propagate her own version of the truth. She’s trying to connect dots that don’t exist to create details that aren’t true.”
Marshall acknowledged that he was copied on the email sent to Scallate that contained the download link but said he never opened the link or obtained the records.
“I was copied on the email that went to Councilman Scallate that had the link to the FOIA file in question,” Marshall said. “I did not access the link and I have never been in possession of the file. Council knows this and I’ve also communicated this to Ms. Patel, but that truth doesn’t fit her narrative so she chose to leave out that part of the story.”
Marshall challenged Patel to produce evidence showing he had ever possessed the records, saying he has proof the download link “was never accessed” by him. He also questioned how Patel became familiar with the contents of the released records, noting she “is not an intended recipient of the records that were released.”
As Patel attempted to respond from the audience, Marshall interrupted, saying, “You do not. This is my time. You had yours,” before continuing with the remainder of his report.
Later in the meeting, Scallate also addressed the issue, saying his name had been referenced several times and offering his own clarification.
“I did know that I was on the same thread that they were on when that file was sent,” Scallate said, referring to Marshall and Suave. “What I did not know and what was a surprise to me was the revelation of our city attorney’s letter to the Department of Crime Victim Services in September stating that I was the only other recipient of that file. That was the issue that I had because I do not feel like that was an honest representation.”
Patel was not the only resident to criticize the city’s handling of the FOIA investigation and the council’s use of executive sessions.
During public comment, Graham Trask criticized what he described as an excessive reliance on executive sessions, arguing that too much city business is discussed outside of public view. He repeatedly referred to council members as “cowards,” accused them of avoiding public accountability and called for the release of information related to the city’s ongoing FOIA investigation.
Following the public comments, council later voted to enter executive session to receive legal advice regarding the city’s ongoing FOIA investigation, along with discussions concerning Parcel K in Beaufort Commerce Park and several personnel appointments.
The FOIA breach remains under investigation.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.