The records · the police NDA essay
Every record behind "About Those NDAs - How Could the Mayor Not Know?"
The essay walks through the email chain the Shelby County Sheriff's Office sent me on October 16th, 2026 - eight days after it said it had no records - and what the NDA form inside it says. The chain is hosted here. Cell and direct phone numbers have been blacked out; names, office lines and work emails stay. Everything else links to where it lives.
Hosted here
The Sheriff's Office email chain, May 10th to June 4th, 2024, with the CTC Property NDA form
Produced by the Sheriff's Office on my records request for its NDAs with xAI's property company, after its October 8th answer that it had no records. It starts with the Greater Memphis Chamber's May 10th, 2024 email sending CTC Property's NDA to twelve officials at Memphis Police, the Sheriff's Office, Tennessee Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI - "Once we have the agreements back, I am happy to coordinate a tour of the facility for everyone" and "MPD is already covered, so we do not need one from you." It ends with a Sheriff's lieutenant writing to CTC Property's physical security manager on June 3rd, 2024, "We will also have the NDA's signed prior to the visit." The blank NDA form is on pages 10 and 11. No signed NDA came with it. Twelve scanned pages; cell and direct phone numbers and the contact sheet's phone column are blacked out.
Linked records
CTC Property LLC and MLGW, Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement, signed late May and June 3rd, 2024
The same CTC Property form, signed by MLGW's president, Doug McGowen - with Tennessee law and Shelby County courts where the form sent to law enforcement says California law and courts in Dallas, Texas. Produced by MLGW on September 21st, 2026.
"How Elon Musk Muzzled Government Employees From Talking About xAI's New Supercomputer"
The first report that the Chamber offered law enforcement a tour on the condition of signing NDAs with CTC Property, and that Memphis Police and the Sheriff's Office delivered signed ones.
Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton on the NDAs
McGowen tells a council committee about the mayor's and his one ask of xAI in 2024
The NDA requests to the Sheriff's Office, Memphis Police and MLGW
The Sheriff's Office request went out October 7th, 2026. Memphis Police's NDAs went to the City the same day; the City answered "no responsive records" on October 15th, and my other questions are a second request due around October 22nd. In September I asked MLGW whether it has ever sent xAI's company a notice under its NDA before answering a records request; MLGW says it should finish by November 10th. Every request and its status is on the board.
Think I got something wrong? Check the records, then tell me. That's the whole point.