(Washington, DC) – Conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch today announced it filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for the metadata for the memos written by fired FBI Director James Comey memorializing his conversations with President Donald Trump.
Judicial Watch is also requesting records about Comey’s FBI-issued laptop computer or other electronic devices and records about how Comey managed his records while he was FBI Director (Judicial Watch, Inc., v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 17-cv-01520)). The metadata information may include details about when the memos were created or edited and by whom.
Via Judicial Watch:
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 27, 2017, after the Department of Justice failed to respond to a June 21 FOIA request seeking:
- Any and all records depicting metadata for any and all memoranda written by former Director James Comey memorializing any meetings and/or telephonic communications with President Donald Trump, including metadata for the “original” electronic versions of the memoranda and any electronic copies of the memoranda that were subsequently created or saved. For purposes of this request, the term “metadata” includes, but is not limited to, dates and times of creation, modification, transmission, and/or retrieval of any electronic copy of any such memorandum currently or formerly in the possession of the FBI and/or drafted, modified, transmitted, and/or received via any FBI-owned computer or other electronic device.
- Any and all records regarding, concerning, or related to the return, disposition, or handling of any laptop computer or other electronic device previously issued to and/or utilized by former Director James Comey.
- Any and all records regarding, concerning, or related to the records management and preservation procedures utilized by former Director James Comey. This includes, but is not limited to, any and all records of communication between Mr. Comey and any other individual or entity regarding, concerning, or related to any such procedures or related regulations.
In an earlier, related FOIA lawsuit, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department for information about former FBI Director James Comey’s memorandum written after his meeting with President Trump regarding potential interference by the Russians in the 2016 presidential election (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-01189).
President of Judicial Watch, Tom Fitton had this to say about Comey’s memos:
“We want to figure out when Mr. Comey wrote or edited his memos and how his records were created and managed by the FBI. The fact that Mr. Comey walked out of the FBI with these sensitive documents tells us something isn’t right at the FBI and Justice Department. We are in court to get answers.”
Last month, Judicial Watch warned the FBI of its obligations under federal law to uncover records unlawfully removed by Mr. Comey.
Fitton also repeatedly says the fact that Judicial Watch has to sue for Comey’s memos in court after they were already given to the press is a scandal in itself.
TGP previously reported, Chris Farrell of Judicial Watch told Fox News’ Lou Dobbs, “This is a case where FBI agents, recently retired and actively serving have come to me and they have told me that they consider Comey to be a dirty cop.”
Farrell also told Dobbs that Comey’s leaks are ‘lawless’ and that he betrayed his oath to the Constitution.
BREAKING: JW filed a FOIA lawsuit w/ DOJ for the metadata for memos written by former FBI Director James Comey.⚖️🔎https://t.co/3y8subPT51
— Judicial Watch 🔎 (@JudicialWatch) July 27, 2017
