by winning potus immunity and re-election, he is no longer in jeopardy so FOIA applies another judge about to swatted or impeached? will the FBI comply? Who will be fired if they do? is there a chance there is an unaltered version out there at this point? surely they anticipated this 'Disclosure is required': Judge gives hat tip to SCOTUS in ordering release of documents regarding whether Trump 'flushed presidential records down the toilet' A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday ordered the FBI to release records the bureau had previously withheld in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by investigative journalist Jason Leopold. Ironically, it was Trump’s victory over Joe Biden in conjunction with the U.S. Supreme Court’s sweeping ruling granting a sitting president immunity from prosecution for official acts — litigation instigated by Trump — that formed the basis for the court’s holding in the FOIA case. In a 26-page order, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell reasoned that because Trump (and the co-defendants he pardoned after taking office) were no longer in danger of being prosecuted for the alleged retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, the federal government could no longer prevent the disclosure of the documents requested by Leopold. Despite filling nearly 400 pages, including exhibits and declarations, briefing in this case fell behind developments in the real world that carry fatal consequences for the agency’s proffered rationale for withholding records responsive to a request under the Freedom of Information Act,” Howell wrote. “Absent correct application of an exemption, disclosure is required to allow the American people to learn about actions of government officials that the officials themselves may not otherwise want to be made public. As the D.C. Circuit has long made clear: ‘One basic general assumption of the FOIA is that, in many important public matters, it is for the public to know and then to judge.'”
