Court Rules Against DOJ In Fight Over Trump Prosecution Records
A federal court has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over records of any communication between former Special Counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis related to their prosecution of President Donald Trump. The ruling is the latest development in a legal battle launched by Judicial Watch after the DOJ refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The dispute began when Judicial Watch filed its FOIA request in August 2023, seeking records on whether Willis had asked for or received federal assistance in her case against Trump and his allies. When the DOJ failed to provide the documents, the group sued in October. The DOJ later argued that disclosing the records could interfere with law enforcement proceedings, even after Smith’s cases against Trump were dismissed.
On January 28, Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ruled that the DOJ’s reasoning was no longer valid, stating that “the cases are closed — not pending or contemplated — and therefore are not proceedings with which disclosure may interfere.” As a result, the court denied the DOJ’s attempt to block the records request and instructed the agency to either release the documents or prove that they are exempt from disclosure.
The DOJ now has until February 21 to meet with Judicial Watch and report on the status of their discussions. The ruling forces the agency to process the records request after more than a year of delays. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton called the DOJ’s refusal to release the records “a scandal” and said it was further evidence of the need for a complete overhaul of the agency.
Willis has also faced legal trouble over transparency issues. A Fulton County judge recently ruled that she violated Georgia’s Open Records Act by failing to release documents related to her communication with Smith and the House January 6 committee. That decision resulted in her office being ordered to pay over $21,500 in attorney’s fees and litigation costs to Judicial Watch.
Fitton has since confirmed that Willis’s office has made the payment, but the focus remains on obtaining the DOJ records that could shed light on the level of coordination between Smith and Willis in their pursuit of Trump.