Vice President-elect Mike PenceMike (Michael) Richard PencePence going to court to keep email secret Report: Trump didn't expect to make it through 2015 Trump and McConnell: Washington’s most powerful odd couple MORE is heading to court in order to keep secret the contents of an email sent while serving as governor of Indiana.
According to The Indianapolis Star, which originally reported the story, said "the email is being sought by a prominent Democratic labor lawyer who says he wants to expose waste in the Republican administration."
The issue, however, could extend beyond the lawsuit by setting a precedent limiting government transparency.
"It comes down to this — the court is giving up its ability to check another branch of government, and that should worry people," Gerry Lanosga, an Indiana University media professor, told the newspaper.
Paul Jefferson, a former professor of state constitutional law at Indiana University, told the Star a ruling in favor of keeping the email private "would severely limit the Access to Public Records Act."
Pence's request for privacy has been called "ironic" by some political observers, who note that he and President-elect Donald TrumpDonald TrumpPentagon chief tells techies he does not condone Snowden Bob Dole: Anti-Trump protesters ‘young punks’ KKK, American Nazi Party praise Trump's hiring of Bannon MORE made attacks on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham ClintonBob Dole: Anti-Trump protesters ‘young punks’ How not to drain the swamp Gwen Ifill, PBS news anchor, dead at 61 MORE's use of a private email server a major part of their presidential campaign against the Democratic nominee.
The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments for the case next Monday.