The documents directly contradict an explanation given by Shapiro’s administration on deleted emails relating to the case.
In a recent development in a sexual harassment scandal occurring within Governor Shapiro’s administration, newly revealed documents directly contradict the administration’s prior explanation for why emails relating to the case had been deleted.
The email account of former employee Mike Vereb’s accuser was deleted, and Vereb was allowed to stay on the job for at least four weeks after the governor said he learned of the sexual misconduct allegations against the top aide.
The governor’s administration claimed that document retention policies concerning the accuser’s account were adhered to. However, Right-to-Know records undermine this claim.
The records obtained from five Pennsylvania government agencies confirm that the accuser was conducting substantive official business over email during the period of March 2 through March 8, 2023. This category of correspondence is required to be preserved for eight years by state law.
An additional email obtained through a Right to Know request shows that Shapiro’s administration placed a litigation hold on Vereb’s emails, but the administration has not said whether a similar hold was placed on the accuser’s email account.
Vereb served as Shapiro’s Secretary of Legislative Affairs. He was accused of sexually harassing a female deputy in his office in 2023.
The accuser alleged that Vereb made a series of inappropriate sexual comments and made an explicit proposition. Once she raised the issue, Vereb and other colleagues retaliated by questioning her job performance. She left the office in early March 2023.
Vereb remained in his position for six months after the accuser departed the office.
Shapiro’s administration has maintained the stance that the accuser’s emails were deleted as part of routine digital protocol.
However, Pennsylvania’s “General Retention Schedule” requires that correspondence generated by deputy secretaries be preserved for eight years. The accuser was the Deputy Secretary of Legislative Affairs for Governor Shapiro’s office.
The documentation also included predecisional policy deliberations, which are included under substantive communications that required preservation by law.
Meanwhile, Vereb’s communications still exist in heavily redacted form.
Right to Know litigation into the case against Shapiro administration officials is ongoing. No explanation as to why the documentation was deleted when the law required it to be maintained has been offered by Shapiro.
