At his Wednesday press conference, Gov. Phil Scott was studiously noncommittal on the use of state prisons to house federal detainees. He unironically expressed the belief that it might be better for detainees like Mohsen Mahdavi to be kept in Vermont instead of being dragged off to Mississippi (where Vermont routinely sends its own inmates) or some other hellhole. But he left the door open to working with lawmakers on that issue and others, as the Legislature considers ways to manage state cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Behind the scenes, something very different is happening. The Scott administration appears to be stonewalling a legislative panel with jurisdiction over the prison contract.

This comes from Independent Rep. Troy Headrick, a member of the House Corrections & Institutions Committee, with additional input from fellow committee member, Democratic Rep. Conor Casey.

Headrick wrote a blogpost on April 16 detailing “executive obstruction” frustrating the committee’s work on the issue. “In committee, we have developed a tri-partisan consensus,” Headrick writes, “that Vermont has no business being complicit with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]’s repeated violations of due process, the First Amendment, and basic human rights.”

Unfortunately, he continues, this effort to end the feds’ use of state prisons to hold detainees has been “stalled… by direct interference from the Governor’s office.”

According to Headrick, the governor’s office has “prohibited” any communication with the committee, on or off the record, by Department of Corrections personnel. Which is a fine kettle of fish, considering that “Corrections” is right there in the committee’s name. It is the House panel responsible for oversight of Corrections.

Headrick and Casey communicated directly with Scott’s chief of staff Jason Gibbs to try to break the embargo. They expressed their desire to reach agreement quietly and cooperatively with DOC, and sought a meeting with Gibbs “at your earliest convenience.”

Headrick reports that Gibbs rebuffed the request. Casey said that Gibbs’ only response was “RCVD,” short for “Received.”

Nice. Gibbs might as well have used the middle-finger emoji.

To repeat, this was not an attempt by two progressive lawmakers to undermine or override the administration. They were trying to work out an agreement without publicity. And the governor’s top aide responded with a virtual spit in the face.

This is why I’ve started putting quotes around “Governor Nice Guy.” And why my lip curls and my eyebrows peak whenever I hear the governor say “come to the table.” Experience informs us that he doesn’t mean a bit of it.