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In United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Case 1:13-cv-00851-RJL Document 13-1 Filed 10/29/13 Page 1 of 31 IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LARRY KLAYMAN, et. al Plaintiffs, v. BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA II, et. al Defendants. Civil Action No. 13-CV-851 PLAINTIFFS' MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION I. INTRODUCTION On June 9, 2013, Plaintiffs filed suit challenging the legality of Defendants’ secret and illicit government scheme to systematically gather, intercept and analyze vast quantities of domestic telephonic communications and “metadata” wholly within the United States by implementing a highly classified, unlawful mass call tracking surveillance program. Compl. ¶2. On April 25, 2013, Defendant Honorable Roger Vinson, a judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (“FISC”), issued a top-secret order compelling the disclosure of all call detail records in possession of Verizon Telecommunication for analysis by the National Security Agency (“NSA”) on an ongoing daily basis.1 On June 5, 2013, based on the disclosures of whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who fled the United States for fear of government reprisal, The Guardian publicly revealed this previously classified order in an article entitled “NSA collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers daily. Exclusive: Top secret order 1 Compl. ¶26; See, In re Application of the FBI for an Order Requiring the Production of Tangible Things from Verizon Bus. Network Servs., Inc. on Behalf of MCI Commc’n Servs., Inc. d/b/a Verizon Bus. Servs., No. BR 13-80 (FISA Ct. Apr. 25, 2013) (“Verizon Order”). -
Officials Say Flynn Discussed Sanctions
Officials say Flynn discussed sanctions The Washington Post February 10, 2017 Friday, Met 2 Edition Copyright 2017 The Washington Post All Rights Reserved Distribution: Every Zone Section: A-SECTION; Pg. A08 Length: 1971 words Byline: Greg Miller;Adam Entous;Ellen Nakashima Body Talks with Russia envoy said to have occurred before Trump took office National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country's ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials, current and former U.S. officials said. Flynn's communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted by some senior U.S. officials as an inappropriate and potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve from sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration in late December to punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election. Flynn on Wednesday denied that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak. Asked in an interview whether he had ever done so, he twice said, "No." On Thursday, Flynn, through his spokesman, backed away from the denial. The spokesman said Flynn "indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn't be certain that the topic never came up." Officials said this week that the FBI is continuing to examine Flynn's communications with Kislyak. Several officials emphasized that while sanctions were discussed, they did not see evidence that Flynn had an intent to convey an explicit promise to take action after the inauguration. Flynn's contacts with the ambassador attracted attention within the Obama administration because of the timing. -
The Misrepresented Road to Madame President: Media Coverage of Female Candidates for National Office
THE MISREPRESENTED ROAD TO MADAME PRESIDENT: MEDIA COVERAGE OF FEMALE CANDIDATES FOR NATIONAL OFFICE by Jessica Pinckney A thesis submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Government Baltimore, Maryland May, 2015 © 2015 Jessica Pinckney All Rights Reserved Abstract While women represent over fifty percent of the U.S. population, it is blatantly clear that they are not as equally represented in leadership positions in the government and in private institutions. Despite their representation throughout the nation, women only make up twenty percent of the House and Senate. That is far from a representative number and something that really hurts our society as a whole. While these inequalities exist, they are perpetuated by the world in which we live, where the media plays a heavy role in molding peoples’ opinions, both consciously and subconsciously. The way in which the media presents news about women is not always representative of the women themselves and influences public opinion a great deal, which can also affect women’s ability to rise to the top, thereby breaking the ultimate glass ceilings. This research looks at a number of cases in which female politicians ran for and/or were elected to political positions at the national level (President, Vice President, and Congress) and seeks to look at the progress, or lack thereof, in media’s portrayal of female candidates running for office. The overarching goal of the research is to simply show examples of biased and unbiased coverage and address the negative or positive ways in which that coverage influences the candidate. -
AMERICAN P VERSIGHT
AMERICAN p VERSIGHT January11,2021 VIA ONLINE PORTAL DouglasHibbard Chief,InitialRequestStaff OfficeofInform ationPolicy DepartmentofJustice 441GStNW,6thFloor Washington,DC20530 ViaOnlinePortal Re: Expedited Freedom of Information Act Request DearFOIAOfficer: PursuanttotheFreedomof InformationAct(FOIA),5U.S.C.§552,andthe implem entingregulationsof youragency,Am ericanOversightmakesthefollowing requestforrecords. OnJanuary6,2021,PresidentTrumpinciteda mtoob attackCongresswhile mbers em werecertifyingtheelectionforPresident-electJoeBiden. 1 Theapparent insurrectionistsattackedtheCapitolBuilding,forcedtheirwaypastreportedly understaffedCapitolPolice,andultim atelydelayedtheCongressionalsessionbyforcing lawmakersandtheirstaffstoflee. 2 Fourpeoplediedduringthisassaultandafifth person,aCapitolPoliceofficer,diedthefollowingdayfrominjuriesincurredwhile engagingwithrioters. 3 Whilem ilitia mbers em roamedthehallsofCongress,Trum preportedlyfoughtagainst deployingtheD.C.NationalGuard, 4 andtheDefenseDepartm entreportedlyinitially 1 PressRelease,OfficeofSen.MittRom ney,Rom neyCondemInsurrectionatU.S. ns Capitol, Jan.6,2021, https://www.romney.senate.gov/rom ney-condem ns-insurrection- us-capitol. 2 RebeccaTan,etal., TrumpSupportersStormU.S.Capitol,WithOneWomanKilledand TearGasFired, Wash.Post(Jan.7,2021,12:30AM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trum p-supporters-storm -capitol- dc/2021/01/06/58afc0b8-504b-11eb-83e3-322644d82356 story.html. 3 EricLevenson, WhatWeKnowAboutthe5DeathsinthePro-TrumpMobthatStormedthe Capitol, CNN(Jan.8,2021,5:29PM), -
Document Requests
Annie Donaldson DOCUMENT REQUESTS Please produce the documents set forth in Schedule A, provided, however, that in order to facilitate production of documents on an expedited basis, you may limit your production at this time to documents you furnished at any time after November 8, 2016 to: (a) the Special Counsel’s Office established by Department of Justice Order No. 3915-2017 (May 17, 2017); (b) the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”); (c) any other federal or state regulatory and/or law enforcement agency; (d) any congressional committee; or (e) in civil or other litigation. This includes but is not limited to documents that were voluntarily provided, produced under compulsion, or seized. Instructions for producing documents appear in Schedule B, and definitions appear in Schedule C. SCHEDULE A 1) All documents relating to the following: a) Communications between Donald McGahn and President Donald Trump on or about January 26-27, 2017, relating to Michael Flynn’s statements to the FBI about his contacts with Sergey Kislyak. b) The resignation or termination of Michael Flynn, including but not limited to the discussion of Sean Spicer’s February 14, 2017 public statements about Flynn’s resignation. c) President Trump’s contacts with James Comey on or about January 27, 2017, February 14, 2017, March 30, 2017, and April 11, 2017. d) Communications involving one or more of the following individuals on or about May 8- 9, 2017 relating to the possible termination of James Comey: President Trump, Vice President Pence, Reince Priebus, Stephen Bannon, Don McGahn, Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller, Jeff Sessions, and/or Rod Rosenstein. -
The Impact of the Mueller Report on the Public Opinion of the 45Th President of the US
The Impact of the Mueller Report on the Public Opinion of the 45th President of the US Andrey Reznikov Black Hills State University After 22 months-long investigation, special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report to US Attorney General on March 22, 2019. The report consists of two volumes: volume I deals with the Russian interference in 2016 elections; volume II documents obstruction of justice incidents. Mueller’s team filed charges against 37 individuals, obtained 7 guilty pleas, and 1 conviction at trial. One of the most important conclusions, repeated throughout the report, is the following statement: If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that conclusion. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him. (Mueller 329-330, vol. II) Such a conclusion alone, even without the knowledge of the facts listed in the report, should have had a substantial impact on the public opinion of the President. However, the public mostly remained quite indifferent. Thus, the question we need to answer is – why? Why the impact of the arguably most important legal document of our time was so miserable? The short answer is simple and obvious: because no one (except pundits) has read the report. That answer begs another question – why the document which was so impatiently anticipated remained mostly unread by the American public? If you ask several people in the street if they will read a 400-page text, they will say they do not have time for that. -
FAKE NEWS!”: President Trump’S Campaign Against the Media on @Realdonaldtrump and Reactions to It on Twitter
“FAKE NEWS!”: President Trump’s Campaign Against the Media on @realdonaldtrump and Reactions To It on Twitter A PEORIA Project White Paper Michael Cornfield GWU Graduate School of Political Management [email protected] April 10, 2019 This report was made possible by a generous grant from William Madway. SUMMARY: This white paper examines President Trump’s campaign to fan distrust of the news media (Fox News excepted) through his tweeting of the phrase “Fake News (Media).” The report identifies and illustrates eight delegitimation techniques found in the twenty-five most retweeted Trump tweets containing that phrase between January 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018. The report also looks at direct responses and public reactions to those tweets, as found respectively on the comment thread at @realdonaldtrump and in random samples (N = 2500) of US computer-based tweets containing the term on the days in that time period of his most retweeted “Fake News” tweets. Along with the high percentage of retweets built into this search, the sample exhibits techniques and patterns of response which are identified and illustrated. The main findings: ● The term “fake news” emerged in public usage in October 2016 to describe hoaxes, rumors, and false alarms, primarily in connection with the Trump-Clinton presidential contest and its electoral result. ● President-elect Trump adopted the term, intensified it into “Fake News,” and directed it at “Fake News Media” starting in December 2016-January 2017. 1 ● Subsequently, the term has been used on Twitter largely in relation to Trump tweets that deploy it. In other words, “Fake News” rarely appears on Twitter referring to something other than what Trump is tweeting about. -
Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein — a Career Dedicated to Public Service Bonnie S
Fall 2018 PUBLIC TRUST The Newsletter of the Federal Career Service Division of the Federal Bar Association Issue Preview This inaugural issue of PUBLIC TRUST features In furtherance of the DOJ feature, we have prepared an article about Rod J. Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney a brief overview of attorney employment opportunities General of the United States (DAG). DAG Rosenstein at the Department. On the “governance” side, we are has served in a full array of positions within the pleased to interview John Thomas, Jr., the Chair of Department of Justice (DOJ), including the U.S. the newly constituted Public Service Task Force. John Attorney for the District of Maryland, and in both the Tax provides details about the mission and scope of this and Criminal Divisions. We are pleased that he is a long- important group’s work. FBA National President Maria time member and leader of the FBA Maryland Chapter. Vathis and FCSD Chair Bob DeSousa both extend their We are honored that James A. Crowell IV (Director of welcome to Division members. Bruce Moyer, FBA the Executive Office of United States Attorneys) and Government Relations Counsel, provides an insightful Robert K. Hur (U.S. Attorney for Maryland) have taken update on legislative issues of interest to government the time to share their thoughts about the DAG with us. attorneys. Thanks to FCSD Board Member Bonnie S. Greenberg for Your suggestions regarding newsletter content are writing this article. Bonnie is a friend and colleague of always welcome and may be sent to fbapublictrusteditor@ the DAG. She is currently Acting Chief Learning Officer, gmail.com. -
Hope Hicks Testimony in Mueller Report
Hope Hicks Testimony In Mueller Report Whitman embows happen while compendious Blaine disendows pivotally or repeopled lankly. Flooding and clever Dannie acquaint guardedly and herd his bosh sanguinarily and naturally. Standford is inappropriately walk-on after effortless Ruddie pierces his dolly unsymmetrically. Hope Hicks Refused To ship About and Time At The transition House. Hope Hicks is scheduled to answer questions from bay House Judiciary. Hope Hicks hearing Democrats to grill ex-Trump aide in. What nearly the implications for the collusion investigation? The prairie will trail behind closed doors, who digest the Russia investigation that was concluded earlier this year, since said. Former Trump adviser Hope Hicks concludes closed-door. She has reported by firings and features on the president did provide them with the path to. Hope Hicks Enters Closed-Door Hearing C-SPANorg. Interview with Hicks subpoenaing her for no testimony. Also wearing face questions about episodes detailed in the Mueller report. Natalie Azar weighs in concept the severity of visiting the elderly and so amid the scowl of coronavirus. Obtaining the testimony Wednesday from Hicks a quarry and trusted former. Washington reporter alana rocha discusses concerns because documents, captures the public relations in the english and former yugoslavia, but are you can unsubscribe at syracuse. Trump in part was. Remove the slashes in snap to use. Robert Mueller, holding hands. Stephanie ruhle to report, your sign up the proposal, it often should have objected to hope hicks testimony in mueller report? White house in oklahoma is hope hicks. Now on syracuse and international criminal conspiracy and try to modern browser is jewish day, its shares last month to pose questions they are. -
Robert Mueller Testimony
Colborn, Paul P (OLC) From: Colborn, Paul P (OLC) Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 9:54 AM To: Engel, Steven A. (OLC); Gannon, Curtis E. (OLC) Subject: Fwd: Discuss Mueller testimony Won't be back until 12:15 or later. Could join noon meeting late and can do 3:30. Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: "Lasseter, David F. {OLA)" <[email protected]> Date: May 14, 2019 at 9:51:28 AM EDT To: "O'Callaghan, Edward C. (OOAG}" <[email protected]>, "Rabbitt, Brian (OAG)" <[email protected]>, "Weinsheimer, Bradley (ODAG)" <[email protected]>, "Engel, Steven A. (OLC)" ,., (b) (6) per OLC , "Colborn, Paul P (OLC)" ,., (b) (6) per OLC >, "Gannon, Curtis E. (OLC)" > Cc: "Boyd, Stephen E. (OLA)" <[email protected]> Subject: Discuss Mueller testimony Good morning all. Could we gather today to discuss the potential testimony of Mr. Mueller (b) (5) I SCO is discussing the scheduling of the testimony with HJC and HPSCI but needs to be better informed on the process as they seek an agreement. Would noon or 3:30 work? Thanks, David David F. Lasseter Document ID: 0.7.23922.34583 Rabbitt, Brian (OAG) From: Rabbitt, Brian (OAG) Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 10:27 AM To: Engel, Steven A. (O LC); Lasseter, David F. {OLA); O'Callaghan, Edward C. (OOAG); Weinsheimer, Bradley (OOAG); Colborn, Paul P (OLC); Gannon, Curtis E. {O LC) Cc: Boyd, Stephen E. {OLA) Subject: RE: Discuss Mueller testimony 330 would be best for me. -Original Message---- From: Engel, Steven A. (OLC) < (b) (6) per OLC •> Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2019 10:04 AM To: Lasseter, David F. -
Memorandum ISO Plaintiffs' MPSJ
Case 1:19-cv-01278-RBW Document 59 Filed 02/03/20 Page 1 of 30 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JASON LEOPOLD and BUZZFEED, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, et al. Defendants. Case No: 1:19-cv-01278-RBW CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC., Plaintiff, v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, Defendant. MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT Case 1:19-cv-01278-RBW Document 59 Filed 02/03/20 Page 2 of 30 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .......................................................................................................... ii INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND.....................................................................3 A. Plaintiffs’ FOIA Requests for FBI Interview Memoranda ......................................3 B. DOJ’s Overreliance on Exemption 5 .......................................................................4 ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................................5 I. FOIA REQUIRES REASONABLY FORESEEABLE HARM TO THE INTERESTS PROTECTED BY EXEMPTION 5 ...............................................................5 II. DOJ IMPROPERLY RELIED ON EXEMPTION 5 TO WITHHOLD AND REDACT RESPONSIVE INFORMATION IN ITS PRODUCTIONS TO PLAINTIFFS .......................................................................................................................7 -
Corporate and Foreign Interests Behind White House Push to Transfer U.S
Corporate and Foreign Interests Behind White House Push to Transfer U.S. Nuclear Technology to Saudi Arabia Prepared for Chairman Elijah E. Cummings Second Interim Staff Report Committee on Oversight and Reform U.S. House of Representatives July 2019 oversight.house.gov EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On February 19, 2019, the Committee on Oversight and Reform issued an interim staff report prepared for Chairman Elijah E. Cummings after multiple whistleblowers came forward to warn about efforts inside the White House to rush the transfer of U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. As explained in the first interim staff report, under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act, the United States may not transfer nuclear technology to a foreign country without the approval of Congress in order to ensure that the agreement meets nine nonproliferation requirements to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. These agreements, commonly known as “123 Agreements,” are typically negotiated with career experts at the National Security Council (NSC) and the Departments of State, Defense, and Energy. The “Gold Standard” for 123 Agreements is a commitment by the foreign country not to enrich or re-process nuclear fuel and not to engage in activities linked to the risk of nuclear proliferation. During the Obama Administration, Saudi Arabia refused to agree to the Gold Standard. During the Trump Administration, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) went further, proclaiming: “Without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible.” There is strong bipartisan opposition to abandoning the “Gold Standard” for Saudi Arabia in any future 123 Agreement.