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The Justice Department Won’t Release Comey’s Memos, So We Sued Them

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Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
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The Daily Caller News Foundation filed a legal brief Friday in opposition to the Justice Department’s request to keep news organizations from obtaining former FBI Director James Comey’s memos.

“The Freedom of Information Act was designed to give the American people access to the records its government keeps,” said Neil Patel, TheDCNF’s president and co-founder. “This access is fundamental in a democracy like ours. Today, when so many Americans feel detached from a government that they feel often doesn’t serve their interests, this sort of access is more important than ever.”

TheDCNF, CNN and USA Today sued the Justice Department in September to release Comey’s memos, that were written in the wake of meetings with President Donald Trump. Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch are also part of the case to release Comey’s memos.

“When The Daily Caller News Foundation made a reasonable request for access to FBI Director Comey’s memos we were completely stonewalled,” Patel said. “Our request is legally sound and completely within the public interest so with the help of our friends at Judicial Watch we are fighting in court to see it through.”

Trump fired Comey in May, and the former FBI chief testified to the existence of the memos during a congressional hearing earlier this year. Comey met with Trump between five and nine times.

“DCNF generally objects to Defendants’ categorical denial of its FOIA request for all unclassified memoranda authored by former FBI Director James Comey that contemporaneously memorialized his discussions with President Trump and his aides,” reads the legal brief filed Friday in the D.C. district court.

“Defendants refuse to provide even the most basic information about the Comey Memos, such as the number of records and the dates each record was created,” TheDCNF argued. “They also refuse to provide detailed and specific information about why they are withholding such information. They merely recite the statutory standard for withholding.”

Here’s a link to the full legal filing.

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