A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday ruled that the FBI must disclose more records about the erstwhile classified documents case against President Donald Trump now that he's cleared of any criminal liability.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said that between a Florida judge's dismissal of the case against Trump and the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling last summer, it "ironically" opened up the president to more scrutiny, Politico reported.
Howell's ruling came in favor of a Freedom of Information Act request by independent journalist Jason Leopold.
"Somewhat ironically, the constitutional and procedural safeguards attached to the criminal process include significant confidentiality mechanisms … to help preserve the necessary confidentiality of ongoing criminal investigations leading to anticipated enforcement actions, but for an immune president, [those exemptions] may simply be unavailable, as it is here," Howell wrote in her 26-page decision.
Howell ordered the FBI to find and make available documents pertaining to the FOIA with a date of Feb. 20 of providing her with an update about a timetable for release to Leopold.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon last year dismissed special counsel Jack Smith's classified docs case against Trump, ruling that Smith's appointment was unlawful. Smith was appealing but dropped his efforts after Trump was elected president on Nov. 5. Given that there's no investigation to keep secret anymore, Howell ruled against the FBI using a "Glomar response" as an imperative to withhold docs.
"The FBI issued, on March 11, 2022, a Glomar response refusing to confirm or deny the existence of responsive records because no investigation into the mishandling of presidential records had been officially acknowledged," Howell wrote.
Further, Howell excoriated the U.S. Supreme Court for its ruling providing presidential immunity for official acts as president, calling it a "mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law."
"Of course, while the Supreme Court has provided a protective and presumptive immunity cloak for a president's conduct, that cloak is not so large to extend to those who aid, abet and execute criminal acts behalf of a criminally immune president," Howell wrote in a footnote. "The excuse offered after World War II by enablers of the fascist Nazi regime of 'just following orders' has long been rejected in this country's jurisprudence."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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