CNN is now attributing quotes to "the government."

[janx]

I posted this in LBN, but I could not help but notice the signal phrase on a few quotes in this article--attributed not to individuals, not to "sources," but simply to "the government."

CNN, what are you doing?

Government lawyers ask judge to reject CNN's efforts to make Comey memos public


Washington (CNN)Government lawyers have asked a judge to reject CNN's requests to make public the memos of former FBI Director James Comey in which he details his meetings with President Donald Trump.

In a late Friday evening filing, the lawyers also have asked for permission to argue in secret why they say the disclosure could compromise the investigation into Russian election-meddling and potential obstruction of justice into that probe.

Several news outlets and government watchdogs, including CNN, have requested the documents be released under the Freedom of Information Act. Comey testified in Congress that the documents detail Trump's request that he pledge personal loyalty and what he interpreted as a request to curtail an investigation into Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Despite Comey's testimony that he wrote the memos specifically to avoid including classified information, the government argued it has now classified portions of the documents.

Releasing the memos, the government said, could "reveal the scope and focus of the investigation and thereby harm the investigation" and any prosecutions.

That's part of it. You can read the rest here:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/14/politics/comey-memos-foia/index.html

[janx]

1. I posted this in LBN as well. n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. WRT court proceedings, it's common to use the term "the government"

when referring to arguments made by government lawyers, because the party is the government. Nothing strange about this at all.

[janx]

3. Thanks for the explanation, V.O.

I've never seen a major news outlet make such a reference before.

[jberryhill]

4. Um, thats because they are court documents filed by the government

That’s not at all unusual.

In a case where the US is a party, the papers are filed by the US. What would you expect the attribution to be? The government lawyer who signed the paper?

If the case involved Coca-Cola, you’d say “Coca-Cola argued X” not “Sally Cheatham of Dewey Cheatham on behalf of Coca-Cola argues X”.

A paper submitted in litigation on behalf of a party is that party’s paper, not the lawyer who wrote it.

[janx]

6. And thank you, too, jberryhill.

(As I thanked VO above.) But do we know who the lawyers are? I take it that as they are representing the government, they are not private lawyers--?

[jberryhill]

8. Yeah, they are public documents

I’m on my phone now, but I’ll look it up later. This is a FOIA suit brought by CNN against the FBI for denying a FOIA request. So the “law firm” representing the government is the DoJ. I don’t know why the specific attorney matters, but I’ll look it up.

It it’s not like “CNN is arguing” anything either, since their papers are filed by Charles Tobin of Ballard Spahr. But that’s not how legal cases are reported. Here’s the complaint:

https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CNN-FOIA-Lawsuit.pdf

[jberryhill]

11. Here you go

Carol Federighi
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
P.O. Box 883
Washington, DC 20044
(202) 514-xxxx
Email: [e-mail]
LEAD ATTORNEY
ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

She's a senior litigation counsel in the DoJ.

[janx]

17. That is precisely what I wanted to know. n/t

[Not Ruth]

5. What side of the "government"? Mueller or Trump? It matters.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. CNN made a motion before a federal judge to make the Comey memos public.

"The government" in this case is arguing against releasing the memos, which CNN requested under the Freedom of Information Act, on the ground that doing so could "reveal the scope and focus of the investigation and thereby harm the investigation" and any prosecutions. So "the government" would seem to be on Mueller's "side" because the lawyers opposing the release of information claim to be protecting the investigation, but it's not Mueller's group that's handling this. Any time you make a FOIA request to a government agency and the agency doesn't want to release the information, a U.S. attorney representing that agency will go to court to oppose the request. I am assuming the FBI is the opposing agency.

[janx]

9. Maybe CNN is being careful because they are a party to this?

The lack of further explanation, etc.?

[jberryhill]

10. What? No

Here's the docket:

The FBI is represented by Carol Federighi of the DoJ

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/21706569/CABLE_NEWS_NETWORK,_INC_v_FEDERAL_BUREAU_OF_INVESTIGATION#

CNN doesn't have to be "careful" about anything. This is a bog-standard Freedom of Information Act suit.

"Being careful" about what?

[janx]

13. Thanks. n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. No, this stuff is all public record.

Oops, just saw the whole record linked in the above post. Read for yourself. This is how FOIA requests are made and opposed - nothing unusual going on at all.

[janx]

14. Thank you. My interest was more regarding the

reporting by CNN than the record or procedure. jberryhill was great to post the link. It is informative. I suppose it's a matter of audience (i.e. people like me and the poster above). We wonder where this is coming from, who specifically is objecting to the release of this information, etc..

Thanks much!

[jberryhill]

18. who specifically is objecting to the release

But ultimately, it’s “the government”. It’s not as if the professional staff of most agencies changes with administrations. At the end of the day, it’s a FOIA case, and in any FOIA case, the basic outline is the same - someone wants what they argue should be public information, and the agency in question believes it falls into one of the FOIA exceptions.

The identity of the particular staff person doing the briefing for the government is “whoever does those cases”. In point of fact, the attorney defending this case for the FBI is doing the same job in this case:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/clintons-unexpected-new-ally-in-the-email-investigation-president-trump/2017/03/13/ffaadf76-0827-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html?utm_term=.292b3f9e00cb

[msongs]

15. 1984 it's not just a book or movie anymore nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. Please read the posts in this thread. There's nothing sinister about any of this -

it's being handled like any other FOIA case.