DOJ Tells Judge Not To Believe His Eyes And Ears On Trump's 'Total (Email) Declassification' Tweets

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Link to tweet

What happened: When Donald Trump tweeted last week that he authorized the "total declassification of any & all documents" related to the long-running Russia investigation and Hillary Clinton's emails — "No redactions!" he tweeted — he really didn't mean it, the Justice Department argued in court Tuesday.

DOJ attorneys told a judge that the White House Counsel's Office effectively told DOJ to disregard Trump's tweets on the matter. They weren't accompanied by an actual declassification order, and DOJ will proceed as though the tweets hadn't occurred, continuing to redact and release documents at its discretion.

"The White House Counsel's Office informed the Department that there is no order requiring wholesale declassification or disclosure of documents at issue in this matter," Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer wrote in a filing with Judge Reggie Walton, who had ordered DOJ to clarify its position after the president's tweets.

The background: Walton is presiding over a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by BuzzFeed's Jason Leopold seeking the disclosure of redacted portions of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the 2016 Trump campaign's contacts with Russia, as well as its underlying documents.

The White House's position cuts against Trump's emphatic tweet, which came amid a remarkable string of invective aimed at his political allies — as well as demands that his Justice Department indict and prosecute his political rivals, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Oct 6
I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!

read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/13/doj-trumps-declassification-russiagate-429257

more background:

Oct.9: Judge orders DOJ to say whether Trump declassification tweets mean full Mueller report should be disclosed

The federal judge handling a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking access to an unredacted version of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report ordered the Justice Department to speak with the White House about whether President Trump’s recent tweets about Russia-related declassifications mean the 448-page report should be released in full.

Judge Reggie Walton, who has critiqued Attorney General William Barr’s handling of the Mueller report in the past, made his ruling on Thursday night in response to an emergency motion filed by BuzzFeed, which has been seeking access to the entire April 2019 report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and unproven claims of Trump-Russia collusion. The emergency motion seeking a court order requiring the DOJ to reprocess the Mueller report before the November election was filed by the outlet after Trump posted a series of tweets saying that a host of documents should be released and seemingly claiming that everything related to the Russia investigation had been declassified by him.

Walton said the Justice Department must respond to BuzzFeed’s motion by Oct. 13 and “shall address the plaintiffs’ claim that the tweets by President Donald Trump referred to in the plaintiffs’ motion resulted in the waiver of exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act for the report prepared by Special Counsel Robert Mueller regarding his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.” The judge added that the Justice Department was further ordered to “confer with the White House in order to advise the Court as to the White House’s official position regarding the declassification and release to the public of information related to the Russia investigation.” BuzzFeed will then have until Oct. 14 to file its own response before the Justice Department and the outlet appear for a teleconference with the court on Oct. 16.

Trump announced that he authorized the declassification of all documents related to both the Trump-Russia investigation and the emails belonging to failed presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a Tuesday night tweetstorm. The president said that all documents declassified will not include any redactions...

read: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/judge-orders-doj-to-say-whether-trump-declassification-tweets-mean-full-mueller-report-should-be-disclosed

[C_U_L8R]

1. If I were the judge

I'd say if Trump wants to rescind his public declassification order, then likewise he should personally and publicly do so.

[exboyfil]

4. Exactly

[stopwastingmymoney]

2. Kick nt

[beachbumbob]

3. usually trump has to pay the woman off after begging and groveling.

[gratuitous]

5. So call the witness

Get Donald Trump into the courtroom, swear him in, and start the questioning about this, following the evidence wherever it leads.