Virginia agency won’t release 1,700 records on Ford talks

By SARAH RANKIN
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s economic development agency says it has at least 1,700 emails and documents pertaining to talks about the possibility of a Ford Motor Co. battery plant landing at a Danville-area megasite. But it won’t release any of them under the state’s public records law. The Associated Press sought the records in January after Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin disclosed that he intervened in an apparent effort by Virginia to land the project. Youngkin objected to the role of a Chinese company in the joint venture. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership said this week that it had located 1,700 emails and documents that matched AP’s request but wouldn’t be sharing any of them.