The day after CNN filed a lawsuit against the FBI demanding the agency turn over any and all memos composed by former director James Comey about his conversations with Donald Trump, the New York Times is doing the same. According to a U.S. District Court filing posted online by Times national security and legal reporter Charlie Savage, he and The New York Times Company are suing the FBI since it possesses classified memos Comey wrote and testified on in public and private hearings, but refuses to disclose them per requests made through appropriate channels.
Per the documents published by Savage, the Times submitted a Freedom of Information Act request on May 17th to the FBI, “[s]eeking all memos, e-mails, or other documents by James Comey discussing or memorializing conversations with Donald Trump.” Two days later, the FBI formally acknowledged the Times‘ application but denied its request for expedited processing. Twenty business days have since passed, which is the time allotted by the FOIA to the agency to meet an applicant’s general request, but the Times‘ lawsuit alleges the FBI has not done this.
Unlike CNN’s lawsuit, the Times made its court filings and posted briefly about them on social media with little fanfare. No arguments were made about the “public [having] the right to see” Comey’s memos and other documentation about his meetings and conversations with Trump. Yet the use (or lack) of pomp and circumstance means little, as these news organizations are simply trying to discovered what Special Counsel Robert Mueller has learned in his expanding obstruction of justice investigation into the White House. Besides, it’s not like Breitbart has gotten involved yet.
(Via New York Times)