Small Business Administration Sued For Refusing to Release Executive's Phone Records

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2009

Petaluma, Calif. – The Small Business Administration (SBA) is being sued by the American Small Business League (ASBL) in United States District Court, Northern District of California for refusing to release the telephone records of SBA Press Office Director Mike Stamler. The ASBL requested Mr. Stamler's phone records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The ASBL believes Mr. Stamler engaged in an aggressive campaign to mislead the media and damage the organization's reputation.

The ASBL has won a series of federal lawsuits against the SBA, which forced the disclosure of information showing that the SBA had fabricated federal small business contracting data and covered-up the diversion of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 companies and other large businesses.

The ASBL expects to file an additional lawsuit against the SBA for refusing to release all of Mr. Stamler's emails for the years 2006 and 2007. The ASBL began requesting Mr. Stamler's communications after several journalists informed the organization that Mr. Stamler had libeled and slandered the ASBL and its President Lloyd Chapman, and embarked on an aggressive campaign to impugn the organization’s credibility with members of the media.

In one such example, after the Long Island Business News (LIBN) quoted ASBL President Lloyd Chapman in a story, the LIBN reporter received a profanity-riddled email from Mr. Stamler. In response, the LIBN reporter published a blog titled, "Expletives the SBA's Forte?" (http://libn.com/libizblog/2008/02/22/expletives-the-sbas-forte/)

The ASBL intends to continue gathering information on Mr. Stamler's campaign to libel and slander the organization and its President Lloyd Chapman in preparation for another lawsuit to be filed against the SBA for defamation of character.

The SBA's own Inspector General has released several investigations that found blatant fraud and abuses in SBA administered small business contracting programs. (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)

In the past, the SBA responded to federal investigations and news stories, which found billions of dollars in small business contracts had gone to Fortune 500 corporations with a series of press releases claiming that the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations was a myth. (www.asbl.com/documents/sbamythvfact.pdf)

"There is no question that Mike Stamler and the SBA have tried to cover up the diversion of small business contracts to Fortune 500 corporations," ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said. "Based upon the information we have obtained so far, it's obvious that they have launched a massive campaign to attack our organization and impugn our credibility as we continue to expose the rampant fraud and abuse that has gone unchecked since 2002."

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