During the ongoing coverage of Secretary of State Chuck Gray giving the personal information of Wyoming voters to the federal government — possibly contrary to state law — Gray has characterized press accounts of the controversy as personal attacks by “the radical left-wing media.” Let’s take a moment and analyze that statement.
Opinion
The primary digital news outlets reporting on Gray’s fumble, Cowboy State Daily and WyoFile, have a combined readership that approximates the number of Wyoming voters whose personal information was given to the feds, around 225,000. For Gray to call that many of his fellow Wyomingites radical left-wingers is quite a stretch, even for him.
In his reaction to Cheyenne attorney George Powers’ complaint against his decision to suck up to the feds, Gray has parroted all the red-meat MAGA dog whistles at his disposal instead of directly answering the important questions at the crux of the issue. It’s almost as if Gray knows he screwed up and is scrambling to cover his tracks from here to way the hell over yonder.
And when the press reports on his goof-up, he fumes that the media is a radical leftist enemy, and attacks the messenger instead of responding to the message. At least he didn’t call us “mainstream,” the Freedom Caucus’ go-to pejorative for the Fourth Estate. That would have wounded me deeply.
Gray maintains that his decision was based on approval by Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz, and is asserting attorney-client privilege as rationale for his non-response to the particulars of the matter. Powers has raised questions about the validity of that assertion, and the “radical left-wing media” has reported on that as well.
Since Kautz might be embroiled in the controversy, either as a party or a witness, Powers has asked the attorney general to refer the matter to an “independent, disinterested officer” who could appoint an arms-length special prosecutor to adjudicate his complaint; A jurist who has no dog in this fight. Kautz responded to Powers’ request on Monday evening, with the following: “Our office received your Complaint of April 13 and a Supplement on April 17, 2026. We will address them in accordance with our office policies, the law and the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys at Law.”
If the independent officer appoints a special prosecutor, we can expect Gray to react with a hair-on-fire diatribe against radical, leftist, bomb-throwing Bolshevik special prosecutors who are only interested in thwarting his role as a loyal Trump acolyte.
When the press reports on that eventual development, Gray will blow snot bubbles of panic that he might have to fess up to what he did, and call the media all sorts of nasty names. He doesn’t realize that each time he attacks the “radical left-wing media,” he ratchets up public attention to the free press that he despises. Thanks, Chuck!
Gray’s loyal supporters have excused his ineptitude by claiming that the federal government already has our sensitive personal information, and Gray handing it over to them was a benign and patriotic act to ensure election integrity.
That’s hilarious horseshit, coming from a rigidly “conservative” states-rights crowd who are suspicious of anything federal. They fail to mention that, by apologizing for Gray, they are applauding Wyoming’s top election official teaming with the feds to perfect a national surveillance state. The irony of that is not lost on this member of the “radical left-wing media.”
The ball is clearly in Attorney General Kautz’s court, given Gray’s obfuscation and refusal to give a straight answer. Kautz would do the citizens of Wyoming a great service by handing the matter over to an independent third party who can appoint a special prosecutor to thoroughly investigate Powers’ formal complaint.
Gray should be cornered into swearing an oath and answering, either in deposition or on the witness stand, the questions that Wyoming citizens want asked. Only that will clear the air and settle the dust, and it’s high time it happened.
Nothing disinfects like sunshine. Left unaddressed and unexamined, doubts about Gray’s obscure partnership with the federal Department of Justice will fester in the minds of Wyoming voters. Kautz needs to dish the ball off to a special prosecutor pronto and let sunshine do its job.
When that occurs, you can read all about it in Wyoming’s “radical left-wing media.”
