No Let Up in 'Study Gate' for Gov. Rell

On Tuesday, Republican State Chairman Christopher Healy criticized Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's investigation into a taxpayer-funded study conducted by the governor's office.

A day later, the Democratic State Chairwoman got into the act. Nancy DiNardo said Gov. M. Jodi Rell has not been truthful about the purpose of the study and that anything Rell's Chief Of Staff, Lisa Moody, says cannot be believed.

Rell has come under the gun following allegations that the study, conducted by Kenneth Dautrich, Director of Public Policy at UConn, was political. 

Critics say that while the purpose of the study was to get the public's feedback on Connecticut's budget crisis, part of it was used to give the governor political advice on the budget issue.

DiNardo is asking the governor's office for any tapes or manuscripts a focus group used as part of the study. She said she's seeking that information through the Freedom of Information Act.

On Wednesday night, Healy called DiNardo's request nothing more than the convenient application of ethics to cover up the Democrats' disastrous leadership on the budget and state's hostility to business.

The governor's office said it is not commenting on the issue and Dautrich said he is refraining from making any more comments on the matter.

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