District Court Denies FBI’s Open America Motion in Daily Caller News Foundation FOIA Lawsuit

Washington, D.C. (June 12 2019) – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute), celebrated a victory for its client, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF), after the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia denied the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) motion for an Open America stay. The victory for DCNF will ensure the FBI produces court ordered records, 500 records per month, pertaining to DCNF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents relating to Special Government Employee Daniel Richman. The Court largely echoed the arguments made by CoA Institute that the FBI failed to show any unexpected spike in FOIA requests or litigation and had not properly reduced its FOIA backlog.

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CoA Institute President and CEO John Vecchione Discusses CoA’s Two Lawsuits Against the DOJ

 

Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) President and CEO John Vecchione appeared on the Daily Ledger to discuss CoA’s two lawsuits against the DOJ for failing to comply with numerous FOIA requests.

The interview comes after CoA Institute filed two complaints against the DOJ in six days for failing to respond to Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests. CoA’s first suit was a result of DOJ’s failure to respond to three requests in regards to the use of a personal email by  former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki, and DOJ’s Director of Public Affairs Sarah Isgur Flores.

CoA’s second law suit, filed on behalf of the Daily Caller News Foundation, comes after the FBI failed to respond to a FOIA requesting communication records and work product relating to  Daniel Richman, a “Special Government Employee” (SGE) hired by former FBI Director James Comey. Richman gained notoriety when James Comey admitted to using Richman to leak memos to the media.

 

 

CoA Institute Moves to Strike FBI Official’s Opinions from Clinton Email Case

Washington D.C. – Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) today filed a motion to strike from the record improper opinion testimony submitted by FBI Assistant Director E.W. Priestap. The declaration was filed in support of the government’s defense in a pending case against the State Department and National Archives and Records Administration regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s unlawful removal of emails.  The suit seeks to refer the matter to the Attorney General, which is what the law requires.

A federal judge in August ordered the government to publicly release the unredacted declaration that it had previously filed so that only the judge was able to review it. The FBI’s declaration includes several opinions that the government relies on to support its case. For example, Mr. Priestap states that “[i]t is my opinion that there are no further investigative actions that can be undertaken by the FBI to recover additional Clinton work-related e-mails which would be meaningful to the investigation, as described above.”

However, the investigation Mr. Priestap is referencing is “the potential unauthorized transmission and storage of classified information on the personal e-mail server of former Secretary Clinton.”  He is not referencing a record-recovery effort pursuant to the Federal Records Act (“FRA”), which is the subject of this litigation.

Cause of Action Institute President and CEO John J. Vecchione: “The FBI’s declaration revealed grand jury subpoenas where there was probable cause to believe classified information may have been involved. This litigation is not merely about classified information, but about the government doing everything in its power to recover Secretary Clinton’s records, in accordance with the law. The opinions offered by Mr. Priestap are unfounded under the applicable standard of law and ignore that this suit seeks more than classified material, which was the FBI’s interest.”

The full Motion to Strike is available here.
CoA Institute also filed its reply brief available here.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications at CoA Institute: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

CoA Institute Forces FBI to Reveal New Details of Clinton Email Investigation

Washington D.C. – The FBI has revealed previously undisclosed details outlining the scope of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email practices as Secretary of State. The disclosure, made Wednesday evening, was a result of Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) convincing the court to release the secret declaration. In August, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled in favor of CoA Institute ordering the government to produce the full declaration that had been filed ex parte and in camera, meaning only the judge had been able to review it.

The declaration reveals the FBI issued several grand jury subpoenas to allies of Mrs. Clinton in instances where there was probable cause to believe those individuals may have received classified information. These subpoenas were issued in addition to subpoenas to her email service providers. The FBI claims it recovered thousands of emails that had previously not been returned to the State Department.

Cause of Action Institute President and CEO John J. Vecchione: “Americans are finally getting important information about the FBI’s efforts to recover the government emails possessed by Hillary Clinton. It’s amazing that this information was only revealed by this suit and not by Congress, the mainstream press, or the administration.”

The full FBI declaration is available here.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, director of communications: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

CoA Institute Urges Court to Reveal Evidence Regarding the FBI Clinton Email Investigation

Journalist files declaration supporting public interest in release of FBI declaration

Washington D.C. – Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) has made a filing in support of its motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, urging the judge to disclose the full contents of a redacted FBI declaration that was filed so that only the judge can review the entire statement.

The government characterized the declaration as containing new, undisclosed details about the scope of the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email practices as Secretary of State. Specifically, the government said the declaration includes “additional details about the grand jury process . . . as well as about other sealed proceedings” and was submitted to provide “further details of the subpoenas to establish to the Court’s satisfaction the thoroughness of the inquiries made in this regard.” As a result of this litigation, the government revealed for the first time early this summer that the FBI issued grand jury subpoenas in its criminal investigation into Clinton’s email practices.

Cause of Action Institute President and CEO John J. Vecchione: “The FBI’s revelation that grand jury subpoenas were issued during its investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails revealed a criminal component. Details of these subpoenas could be critical to our case to recover those emails. Unfortunately, the government has taken a step back behind the curtain and submitted a supplemental declaration, in camera and ex parte, meaning only the judge and the government’s lawyers are allowed to see it. We can only surmise the declaration shows that the FBI issued subpoenas to the service providers in search of Ms. Clinton’s BlackBerry emails. Without access to the un-redacted declaration, we cannot know the scope of those subpoenas, nor will we be able to contest the relevance of new facts.

“The public interest in learning the extent of the government efforts to recover unlawfully removed records and basic notions of fair play outweigh the need to protect grand-jury secrecy, the existence of which the government has already revealed.  The government should not be permitted to use the grand jury information as a sword and also shield it from public view. Anglo American law frowns on litigation through secret filings. Accordingly, the Court should require the government to open the curtain, so we can properly respond to the new evidence.”

Matthew Continetti, editor in chief of the Washington Free Beacon, an independent news publication based in Arlington, Virginia, submitted a declaration urging full public disclosure of the government’s filing.  As Mr. Continetti explained:

This matter is one of intense public interest given Secretary Clinton’s nomination in 2016 by the Democratic Party for the presidency of the United States, high-profile positions in government, and continued involvement in public life…

It is essential for the public to understand the full scope and breadth of the FBI’s investigation into Secretary Clinton’s email server for the public to make an informed decision about what transpired during Secretary Clinton’s service to the State Department.  I believe the information sought by Plaintiffs would be of significant public interest and of interest to the readers of the Washington Free Beacon.

The Plaintiffs’ reply in support of its motion is available here.

Mr. Continetti’s declaration in support of the Plaintiffs’ motion is available here.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org