After 4 Years of Controversy, URI President Calls for Revoking Flynn & Guiliani’s Honorary Degrees
Thursday, January 20, 2022
In 2017, GoLocal asked the University of Rhode Island administration about the status of the 2014 honorary degree bestowed to URI grad General Michale Flynn.
The inquiry was sparked by the announcement that Flynn had pled guilty to federal charges.
GoLocal also asked about the degree bestowed to Reverend Jesse Jackson. He had been accused by leading African-American journalist Danielle Young that Jackson sexually harassed her.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to Acciardo, head of communications for the University, Donald H. DeHayes Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs would be responsible for reviewing Flynn’s situation. He headed the Honorary Degree Committee. “I have an expectation that this will be before the committee at the next meeting,” said Acciardo at the time.
In a statement to GoLocal, URI had said, “The University is not currently considering rescinding the honorary degree for Lt. Gen. Flynn.”
When asked about charges against another URI honorary degree recipient -- Jesse Jackson -- URI had also told GoLocal, “The University is not currently considering rescinding the honorary degree for Rev. Jackson."
Over the next four-plus years, URI officials repeatedly refused to provide documents regarding the Flynn honorary degree and blocked information GoLocal sought under the Access to Public Records Act -- specifically, requests regarding the actions by the committee that nominated Flynn and then had reconsidered the decision.
Flynn Controversies Over the Past Four Years
In June, Flynn appeared at a Texas political event where he appeared to suggest that a Myanmar-like military coup "should" happen in the United States.
Flynn made the remarks during a Q&A session at a conference called the "For God & Country Patriot Roundup" in Dallas.
"I want to know why what happened in Myanmar can't happen here?" one attendee asked, prompting loud applause from the crowd.
"No reason. I mean, it should happen here," Flynn said, to even more cheers from attendees.
The deadly coup in Myanmar garnered international attention.
He later issued a statement denying that he suggested a Myanmar-style military coup should happen in the US, reported Business Insider.
"Let me be VERY CLEAR – There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort," Flynn said in a post on Telegram, a social-media app that has been favored by far-right groups.
In December 2020, after President Joe Biden had won the election, Flynn said that Trump could use the military in key states to “re-run” the election.
“There is no way in the world we are going to be able to move forward as a nation. He could immediately, on his order, seize every single one of these [voting] machines, on his order,” Flynn said, citing Trumpworld’s unhinged conspiracy theory that voting software flipped Trump votes to Biden.
“He could order the, within the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take military capabilities, and he could place those in states and basically rerun an election in each of those states,” he continued, adding: “I mean, it’s not unprecedented. These people are out there talking about martial law like it’s something that we’ve never done. Martial law has been instituted 64 times.”
URI Blocks Release of Information
In November 2021, a GoLocal APRA for related records to discussion about Flynn's honorary degree was denied by the University. This was the second time GoLocal had sought university emails and communications via an APRA request.
In a letter to GoLocal’s CEO Josh Fenton, URI’s attorney, Lauren A. Jensen Associate General Counsel, wrote:
You are requesting the following documents:
[C]opies of all communications between members of the honorary degree committee and members of the university administration between July 1, 2020, and the present - this would include emails, written documents, or texts.
By email dated November 30, 2021, you clarified that (1) your request is only seeking communications by or on behalf of the Honorary Degree Committee, and is not seeking communications from individual members of the Honorary Degree Committee unrelated to the work of the Honorary Degree Committee and (2) “members of the university administration,” as used in your request, refers to the University’s President and the members of Senior Leadership as identified on the University’s Office of the President webpage.
Please be advised that the documents responsive to your request have been withheld because they are exempt from disclosure under the APRA pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(b) and/or R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(E).
First, R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(b) establishes that “[p]ersonnel and other personal individually identifiable records … the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq.” shall not be deemed public. This provision requires a “balancing test” where the public interest in disclosure of the records is weighed against any privacy interests in the records. On balance, the privacy interests of the individuals who are recommended and/or considered for the award or revocation of an honorary degree outweigh any apparent public interest in the disclosure of such records. That is, public disclosure of communications reflecting recommendations and/or considerations of identifiable individuals for the award or revocation of an honorary degree would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Those communications are therefore exempt from disclosure under the APRA and have been withheld.
Second, R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(E) establishes that “[a]ny records that would not be available by law or rule of court to an opposing party in litigation” shall not be deemed public. This provision has been interpreted to include a deliberative process privilege. See Providence Journal v. Executive Office of Health & Human Servs., PR 20-01 (01/02/19). Communications reflecting deliberations and recommendations prior to the ultimate decision whether to award or revoke an honorary degree are part of a deliberative process. Such communications are therefore exempt from disclosure under the APRA and have been withheld.
In accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-8 and -9, if you disagree with the determination made by this office, you can petition Marc B. Parlange, President, University of Rhode Island, Green Hall, 35 Campus Avenue, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, for a review of the determination, or you may appeal to the R.I. Department of Attorney General or the R.I. Superior Court for the county in which the records are maintained.
New President, New Course
Now, new URI President Marc Parlange is reversing course.
Acciardo in an email to GoLocal on Wednesday, wrote, "At its meeting on Friday, January 21, the University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees will consider a recommendation from URI President Marc Parlange to revoke the honorary degrees previously awarded to retired Lt. General Michael Flynn and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani."
"At the request of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, the URI Honorary Degree Committee deliberated in December 2021 and forwarded its recommendation to URI President Marc Parlange," added Accairdo.
The Board of Trustees website contains the agenda items and the meeting will be held at 9:30 am on Friday, January 21, and live-streamed here.
Related Articles
- Supreme Court Rules Trump Illegally Ended DACA - RI Immigration Attorney Molina Flynn LIVE
- NBC’s Meet the Press “Regrets” It “Inaccurately” Alleged Flynn Exoneration Was Political
- URI Refuses To Comment on Flynn’s Honorary Degree After He Is Banned By Twitter as a QAnon Activist
- Whitcomb: Respectable Raimondo Years; URI’s Dr. General Flynn, Gravest National Security Threat
- RI’s Flynn—Trump’s Former National Security Advisor—Purchases Home in FL, According to Reports
- Fate of Michael Flynn’s Honorary Degree: Cancel Culture v. QAnon Hero — URI’s Dilemma
- UPDATED: RI’s Flynn Says Myanmar-LIke Coup “Should Happen” in America
- Michael Flynn’s Brother and His Wife Sue CNN for $75 Million Over QAnon Affiliation Report
- UPDATED: Michael Flynn 1 of 6 Subpoenaed By January 6 Committee
- RI’s Flynn Pressured Defense Department to Overturn Election, According to New Book
- President Trump May Pardon RI’s General Flynn
- NEW: U.S. Justice Department Moves to Drop Charges Against RI’s General Flynn
- RI’s Flynn Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea for Lying to FBI
- Gen. Flynn’s Lawyers Say New Unsealed Documents Show “FBI Setup”
- Michael Flynn: 21 Who Made a Difference in 2021
