BuzzFeed sues for records on Trump-Obama tapping tweets
Source: Politico
By JOSH GERSTEIN 05/18/2017 01:16 PM EDT
BuzzFeed is suing the federal government for records about President Donald Trump's use of Twitter, including his most attention-grabbing tweets claiming that he was wiretapped by former President Barack Obama.
The White House is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, so the suit demands information from about half a dozen government agencies, including the Justice Department, the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Office of Director of National Intelligence. The suit could turn up some communications with the White House, however, if those appear in agency files.
"As the Department of Justice itself has acknowledged, there are 'hundreds' of official communications related to the President's tweets, including the claim that President Obama illegally wiretapped Trump Tower," BuzzFeed spokesman Matt Mittenthal said Thursday. "Given the magnitude and clear public interest of this and other allegations, we believe that the Trump administration is legally obligated to turn over these records."
The suit, brought by BuzzFeed and reporter Jason Leopold, was filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles. It says the Justice Department's National Security Division advised that at least some records responsive to the requests are classified.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2017/05/18/buzzfeed-records-request-trump-tweets-238561
