I applaud Secretary of the State Denise Merrill for not trusting the motives of the Trump voting fraud commission, deciding along with 43 other secretaries of state to not comply with the commission’s request for personal data. 

Chris Powell's recent column, “What’s state’s top election official hiding from Trump?” (July 9) chastised Merrill for not following the Freedom of Information Law. Powell’s position is that possible bad motives do not matter in the release of information. Respectfully, I disagree because the state can, in order to protect the public, set limits on how that information is used. 

For example, Kris Kobach, vice chairman of the Trump voter commission, has a company called "Cross Check" and this company has been exposed by investigative reporter, Greg Palast, as selling voter information to aid in voter suppression! See: www.gregpalast.com. 

And Kobach has been fined by a federal magistrate for "patently misleading representations" in a case where the League of Women Voters and others are suing him. See Fish v. Kobach, 16-3147 (10th Circuit. 2016). 

I would urge Merrill to call for an investigation of Kris Kobach by Congress, which should call Greg Palast as an expert witness.

Dave Falvey

Groton