Over several mornings in 1996, Leavitt met with top staff and trusted advisers to explore The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' scripture to extract "holy and just" principles that could be applied to government. Leavitt, now secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, had argued the meeting transcripts should be kept private, since gatherings were held before business hours and involved friends who were not state employees.
"The secretary has been notified and accepted the review and considers the matter closed," said Natalie Gochnour, a former aide to Leavitt who has been acting on his behalf.
Leavitt requested a review after inquiries from The Salt Lake Tribune and the archives pulled the material from the public records until the review was complete. The Tribune posted the material on its Web site on Sunday.
In a letter to The Tribune last week, Leavitt acknowledged "the role of faith in public policy is a legitimate story," but said the comments of other participants in the discussions should remain private because they expressed thoughts they "may deem to be personal, in some cases even sacred."
The transcripts depict five meetings beginning in mid-October 1996, and focused primarily on preparations for the governor's inaugural address for his second term. A memo suggests three other meetings were scheduled, but no records are available.
In attendance were several of his senior staff - chief of staff Charlie Johnson, now chief financial officer at HHS; policy deputy LaVarr Webb; and his spokeswoman, Vicki Varela. They also included Leavitt's trusted confidants, such as former U.S. Attorney David Jordan; Matt Durrant, who Leavitt later appointed to the Utah Supreme Court; and Henry Eyring, the son of the LDS general authority.
Leavitt has 30 days to appeal the state archives' decision, although Gochnour indicated no appeal is expected. The material will not be returned to the public records until the appeal period lapses, although the public may file an open records request to access the documents.
