Judge signals interest in removing Mueller report redactions [View all]
Source: Politico
Thats what open government is all about, Judge Reggie Walton said during court arguments over a FOIA lawsuit against the Justice Department.
By DARREN SAMUELSOHN 08/05/2019 02:51 PM EDT
A federal judge signaled Monday hes considering removing the Mueller reports redactions.
During more than two hours of oral arguments in Washington, District Judge Reggie Walton appeared on several occasions to side with attorneys for BuzzFeed and the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center, which are seeking to remove the black bars covering nearly 1,000 items in former special counsel Robert Muellers final 448-page final report.
Walton didnt issue an opinion from the bench on the case, which centers on a pair of consolidated lawsuits filed against the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act. But the judge, an appointee of President George W. Bush, sounded increasingly skeptical of the government's arguments pressing him to leave the redactions untouched.
Thats what open government is about, Walton said during one exchange, citing the resolution of a 2008 sex crimes case against financier Jeffrey Epstein as an example of how obfuscating the reasons behind not prosecuting high-profile people generates public distrust in the countrys criminal justice system.
Indeed, EPIC and BuzzFeed filed their lawsuit in order to uncover such information the redacted explanation of why the special counsel didnt bring charges against the likes of Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner. And in court Monday, their attorneys argued that disclosing these details would help resolve whether the president is right to claim the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was a witch hunt.............................
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/05/judge-signals-interest-in-removing-mueller-report-redactions-1448331
If he leaves just a bit, I hope there is a fight to release all.
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PalominoWolf
@KingVolfe
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17m
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@Amy_Siskind
The case would be appealed, but what would stop someone from releasing the report to the press in the milliseconds between judgement and appeal?
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Mordecai Boone
@MordecaiBoone
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11m
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@Amy_Siskind
and
@JoyAnnReid
Your honor: your country implores you.
D Ram
@yourdrtab
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6m
Replying to
@Amy_Siskind
and
@JoyAnnReid
Bless God for honest judges....why are Barr and Trump afraid of transparency
JosephMoore
@JosephMoore2100
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21m
Replying to
@Amy_Siskind
Good, release it all. The American people deserve to know all the facts.