Saying the public deserves to know what led Gov. Tom Wolf to yank security and staffing from the lieutenant governor, the Pennsylvania Republican State Party on Wednesday took an action to try to force that information to be released.

The party's Chairman Val DiGiorgio personally walked over to the state's Office of Open Records to file an appeal seeking to overturn the Wolf Administration's denial of a Right to Know request for records that could shine a light on the matter.

Specifically, the state GOP chairman wants a report from a governor-ordered investigation by Inspector General Bruce Beemer into complaints of staff mistreatment by Lt. Gov. Mike Stack and his wife Tonya.

"I think it's the objective of government to be as transparent as possible. When allegations come out that the lieutenant governor and his wife were abusing staff and potentially misusing state funds, I think people have the right to know," DiGiorgio said. "What is there that they're hiding?"

Wolf ordered the investigation last spring after hearing complaints of verbal abuse of staff at the state-provided lieutenant governor's residence at Fort Indiantown Gap and demands from Stack and his wife that the state police security use their vehicle's sirens in non-emergency situations.

He then took the unprecedented step of removing the round-the-clock state police security detail assigned to Stack and his wife and ordering staff to perform groundskeeping and maintenance duties at the lieutenant governor's residence only at prearranged times and with supervision.

Stack, who was not Wolf's running mate and has never been close to the governor, subsequently apologized and admitted to occasionally having what he called a "Stack moment" when he said things in anger and frustration that he later regretted.

A short time later, the lieutenant governor's office confirmed that Stack's wife had checked in for in-patient treatment for a mental health issue.

Despite earlier indications that he would release the inspector general's report upon the investigation's completion, Wolf last month announced the report would remain confidential.

"My concern back in the summer was to make sure the employees - the police officers and the staff out at the residence - were safe and were not in a bad job situation," Wolf said at the time. "And I took care of that. I don't think anything will be served by piling on top of that. I also have a concern for Mrs. Stack who is still undergoing treatment and I don't see any reason to go any further than I did."

Stack responded to that decision, expressing his family's gratitude for that decision "as we address this private family health issue."

DiGiorgio said the private health-related references to Mrs. Stack in the inspector general's records could have been redacted. He called the governor's decision to not release any portions of the report "a political miscalculation" considering that Stack is seeking the Democratic Party's endorsement in his re-election bid for the lieutenant governor's post.

"I'd want to know if I were a Democratic Party committeeman thinking whether I was going to endorse him or not," he said. "This isn't a Republican or Democrat issue. This is transparency and fairness."

PennLive has its own appeal pending with the Office of Open Records over the governor's office denial of a request for the inspector general's report. Several Republican lawmakers also have called on Wolf to release the report.

A request for comment from the lieutenant governor about the attempts to overturn the governor's denials for the report went unanswered.

Erik Arneson, the open records office executive director, acknowledged there is some precedent indicating the inspector general's reports can be withheld.

"That doesn't mean that's the case here," he said. "Every case is different and facts-dependent so our appeals officers will take a look at these cases and see where the facts take us."