Lawmaker sends sexually graphic email to government workers
 

Lawmaker sends sexually graphic email to government workers
By The Associated Press

(1/22/04 - BATON ROUGE, LA) ? The president of the Louisiana Senate has asked for an investigation into whether the Senate's top administrator intentionally sent an e-mail containing graphic sexual images and jokes to government workers.

Senate Secretary Mike Baer contends he was trying to delete the items from his e-mail box but accidentally forwarded them on Jan. 16 to legislators, their staff and members of the governor's office.

The mailing contained several attachments Baer received from others, including jokes that contained sexual content. Also attached was a three-minute video that focused entirely on female genitalia.

The message provoked several complaints.

Senate President Don Hines said Thursday he wants to determine whether Baer intended to send the e-mail to certain individuals and instead mistakenly sent the vulgar jokes and video files to several hundred people.

Baer sometimes e-mails jokes to a list of more than five dozen people, including lobbyists, legislators and even reporters.

Baer called the mailing carelessness and said he hadn't even seen the jokes himself.

He sent a follow-up apology when he realized the e-mail had gone out around the capitol and to legislators' district offices.

Hines said the Senate's human resources office is heading the investigation and will look into whether one key stroke could have linked several e-mails of jokes into one message and forwarded it.

The incident was the second time in less than three months that Baer was the subject of complaints. In November, Baer apologized for saying during election night television coverage that black voting precincts "don't get their numbers just right." Baer called it a slip of the tongue.