HOUSTON – It was all a mistake. That is exactly what Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and her team are claiming Wednesday, following an email Ogg sent to prosecutors Tuesday. The email outlined that employees’ job security depended on attending community activities and volunteering.
“Yes, that is always a good tactic to say that somebody else did it, even though it’s under my name,” said Paul Harris, a Houston based employment attorney.
The email has sparked questions on how Ogg runs the DA’s office.
“If at the end of the day Kim Ogg sent this email then there is more to this than certainly meets the eye,” said KPRC 2 legal analyst Brian Wice.
He is not alone.
“Generally, Kim Ogg is not as polarizing and political as this email suggests,” said Mark Jones a Political Science Professor at Rice University.
The email, which was titled “Volunteer Voter Registration and Food Drive,” went viral on social media.
Ogg wrote in the email to prosecutors: “employees’ performance evaluation, includes a grade for personal development. This includes community activities and volunteering for projects like this.”
Harris said a 2002 federal employment case involving a politically charged district attorney favors Ogg.
“If she wants to ding people on their evaluations for not showing up, she can do that,” he said.
Nonetheless, nearly 24 hours after sending the email, an attorney in Ogg’s office sent a follow-up email stating that Ogg sent the email out too early. He said that she sent the draft and that he was the one who was supposed to send it. However, Ogg’s email address was used to send the email to the office.
“Was this just a rookie mistake, an unforced error or was this a veiled threat that some employees could have taken as ‘an or else’ scenario,” said Wice.
KPRC 2 Investigates made multiple requests for an interview with Ogg. However, she was not made available for comment.