Trump admin violating FOIA by refusing to release documents about judicial nominee and current DOJ official

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Law & Crime

Jul 11th, 2025, 8:40 am


The Trump administration is violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by refusing to release documents about President Donald Trump's former personal attorney and current judicial nominee Emil Bove, a lawsuit filed Thursday in Washington, D.C., alleges.

In a 24-page complaint, American Oversight, a transparency-focused watchdog group, accuses of the federal government of repeatedly violating FOIA laws on numerous occasions over several months.

The lawsuit comes hot on the heels of released internal DOJ communications which purport to show Bove suggested the government might have to consider ignoring court orders related to the deportation of immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA).

"The American public — and the U.S. Senate — have every right to see the full record of Emil Bove's potential misconduct before he is considered for a lifetime seat on the federal bench," American Oversight Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said in a press release announcing the litigation on Thursday morning. "The whistleblower allegations against Bove add to an extremely troubling portrait: a top DOJ official willing to defy court orders, mislead judges, and interfere in criminal prosecutions for political gain. The American people deserve to know how Bove wielded the immense power of his office — and whether he betrayed the rule of law in the process."

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/acted-to-defy-the-constitution-trump-admin-violating-foia-by-refusing-to-release-documents-about-judicial-nominee-and-current-doj-official-emil-bove-watchdog-says/

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Full headline: 'Acted to defy the Constitution': Trump admin violating FOIA by refusing to release documents about judicial nominee and current DOJ official Emil Bove, watchdog says

Link to American Oversight COMPLAINT (PDF viewer) - https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25995465-american-oversight-v-doj-bove/

Link to American Oversight COMPLAINT (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25995465/american-oversight-v-doj-bove.pdf

[bucolic_frolic]

1. This is Stalinesque - party apparatchiks filling the bureaucracy. /nt

[underpants]

2. Bove looks like a modern day Roy Cohn

[2na fisherman]

3. A Judge To Hold In Contempt

So Bove wants to be a Judge. If confirmed, is he prepared to allow litigants in his courtroom to tell him they will ignore his orders?And will he think it's okay when they testify that they can't recall saying FU to him?

[MLWR]

4. Is anyone really surprised?

Krasnov never met a law that he thought applied to him.

[Grokenstein]

5. Time for a strongly worded letter!

Matt Bors' old comic is coming true before our eyes

[Passages]

6. Standard Trump practices.

Unethical and often illegal.

[onenote]

7. Don't hold your breath

There are nine exemptions to FOIA disclosure requirements. I can foresee the Trump administration citing several of them in response to the FOIA demand. It will then be up to a court to decide. Which won't happen quickly in my experience.

These are the nine exemptions:
Exemption 1: Information that is classified to protect national security.
• Exemption 2: Information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an
agency.
• Exemption 3: Information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.
• Exemption 4: Trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or
privileged.
• Exemption 5: Privileged communications within or between agencies, including those protected
by the:
1. Deliberative Process Privilege (provided the records were created less than 25 years
before the date on which they were requested)
2. Attorney-Work Product Privilege
3. Attorney-Client Privilege
4. Presidential Communications Privilege
• Exemption 6: Information that, if disclosed, would invade another individual’s personal privacy.
• Exemption 7: Information compiled for law enforcement purposes that:
o 7(A). Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings
o 7(B). Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication
o 7(C). Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy
o 7(D). Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source
o 7(E). Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or
prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law
o 7(F). Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual
• Exemption 8: Information that concerns the supervision of financial institutions.
• Exemption 9: Geological information on wells.

I expect the administration will cite at least the following: Exemptions 1, 2, 5, and 7.