FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: 202-646-5188
January 12, 2018
Judicial Watch Statement on Federal Court Order for FBI to Turn Over Comey Memos for Court Review by Next Week
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton made the following statement regarding last night’s ruling by United States District Judge James E. Boasberg that the FBI must turn over to the court for in camera, non-public review former FBI Director James Comey’s memos allegedly detailing conversations he had with President Donald Trump:
The court, in seeking to review the documents, shows it doesn’t trust the FBI or Justice Department’s representations about the infamous Comey memos. We hope now that Americans are one step closer to knowing the facts about these memos, which were written and leaked for pernicious purposes to target a sitting president with a criminal investigation. It’s high time they begin to see the light of day. We’re glad the court followed up on our specific suggestion that it review the documents directly.
The court order tells the government to turn over the Comey memos for review by January 18. In doing so, the court rejects arguments by the Sessions Justice Department to dismiss the lawsuits seeking the Comey information.
On June 16, 2017, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for “ FBI Director James Comey’s February 14, 2017 memorandum … memorializing an Oval Office conversation he had with the President on that date regarding former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.”
On September 7, 2017, Judicial Watch filed a related FOIA lawsuit on behalf of the Daily Caller News Foundation for “all unclassified memoranda authored by former FBI Director James Comey that contemporaneously memorialized his discussions with President Donald Trump and his aides.”
Judicial Watch recently made court filings on behalf the Daily Caller News Foundation and on behalf of Judicial Watch, requesting that the Justice Department be ordered to produce all Comey’s unclassified memoranda about his one-on-one conversations with the president. Judicial Watch argued that “at a minimum, the Court should review the Comey Memos in camera to determine whether all responsive records have been located. This can be easily accomplished by comparing the memos to the very public testimony of Director Comey.”
The Justice Department previously argued to the court that Comey’s leak of the memo regarding former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was unauthorized and compared it to WikiLeaks.
Comey admitted to Congress regarding the “Flynn” memo, “I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter [for The New York Times] … I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.” The New York Times published a report about the memo on May 16, 2017. Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed the following day.
Both Judicial Watch cases have been consolidated in Cable News Network, Inc., v. Federal Bureau of Investigation (No. 1:17-cv-01167).
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Capturing Antelope Island bighorn sheep for release in the Stansbury Mountains
What: If you missed it last week, bighorn sheep will soar above Antelope Island again tomorrow. Biologists from the DWR and State Parks will work with a helicopter crew to capture 15 Rocky Mountain bighorn rams. The helicopter will bring the sheep to a staging area, where they will all receive health checkups and vaccinations. Some of the animals will also be fitted with tracking collars. At that point, they will be loaded onto trailers for their ride to the Stansbury Mountains. The rams will join other recently relocated ewes to help reestablish the Stansbury bighorn population. Important: To reduce stress and protect the animals in the processing area, please whisper and try to keep verbal communication to a minimum.
When: Likely Jan. 13 (This project was originally scheduled for Jan. 14, but another project finished early, so biologists hope to complete this effort on Jan. 13. Please call one of the contacts to confirm the timing.)
Where: The sheep will be captured on Antelope Island and receive their health assessments in a staging area. (Call one of the contacts for directions to the staging area.) The sheep will be released in the Stansbury Mountains.
Contacts: Kent Hersey, 801-913-1864 or Eric Anderson, 435-770-0243
In conjunction with the upcoming movie “12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers” the ASOM will display a special exhibit entitled “America’s Response” featuring artifacts from the Special Forces Soldiers who deployed to Afghanistan directly following the September 11th attacks. Artifacts include a saddle used by the Horse Soldiers, steel from the World Trade Center carried throughout the deployment by a Special Forces soldier, and many more. This exhibit will be open beginning January 13th and run through the end of January.
“Shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Operational Detachment Alphas (ODA) 555 and 595 from the U.S. Army’s 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) were inserted into Afghanistan.
Due to the rugged mountainous terrain of Northern Afghanistan, ODA 595 adopted the local mode of transportation: Horses. The 12 men of ODA 595 were the first U.S. Soldiers to fight on horseback since WWII.
By late fall, numerous ODAs from the U.S. Army’s 5th Special Forces Group were in Afghanistan supporting the Northern Alliance. In November 2001, ODAs 595 and 534, fighting alongside approximately 2000 Northern Alliance fighters on horseback, foot, pickup trucks, and captured Soviet BMP armored personnel carriers, took the Taliban stronghold of Mazar-e-Sharif. This was the first significant Taliban defeat of the Global War on Terror.”
The Airborne & Special Operations Museum will be closing at 3:00pm on Saturday, January 13th for a special event and will reopen Sunday at noon for regular hours.
