Latest news with #Glomar
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
How presidency take react to US court order to FBI and DEA on Tinubu probe and wetin go happun next
Nigeria Presidency don to react to di order wey United States Court for di District of Columbia bin give Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration on President Bola Tinubu. On Tuesday 8 April, di court order FBI and DEA to release records of dia investigations of President Tinubu involvement in alleged drug trafficking. On top im X page on Sunday, di president tok-tok pesin Bayo Onanuga say notin new dey to dey revealed by FBI and DEA. "Journalists don seek di Presidency reaction to di ruling last Tuesday by a Washington DC judge wey order di US FBI and DEA to release reports connected with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. "Our response dey as follows. "Notin dey new to dey revealed. Di report by Agent Moss of di FBI and di DEA report don dey for public space for more dan 30 years. Di reports no indict di Nigerian leader. The lawyers dey examine di ruling," Onanuga write for X. Wetin dey for di court ruling? For di ruling wey di court upload for dia site, di district judge, Beryl Howell, order say di FBI and DEA "gatz search for and process non-exempt records responsive to di FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests wey one American citizen Aaron Greespan bin direct to dem. According to di court, di evasive "Glomar responses" previously issued in response to di FOIA requests on di matter gatz dey lifted. Glomar responses dey dey given by goment agencies to neither confam nor deny di existence of a particular information requested. For 2022 and 2023, Greenspan wey be di founder of PlainSite bin seek investigative records about Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Adegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele wey bin allegedly dey associated wit one drug ring. Greenspan bin file 12 FOIA requests wit six different US federal goment agencies including di FBI and di DEA to request di criminal investigation information of di Chicago heroin ring wey bin operated for di early 1990s. Oda agencies wey Greenspan write to na di United States Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Executive Office of United States Attorneys (EOUSA). According to di court document, five of di agencies issued Glomar responses to Greenspan FOIA requests. Di agencies tok say dem fit neither nor confam di requested records. Greenspan den file a lawsuit to challenge di agencies response to di FOIA requests. For im Tuesday judgement, Judge Beryl A. Howell rule say di Glomar responses wey di FBI and DEA issue no dey proper and gatz dey lifted. "Defendants dey correct say di principle dey "well established say 'individuals get obvious privacy interest cognizable under Exemption 7(C) in keeping secret di fact say dem be subjects of one law enforcement investigation," di judge tok. Di judge also tok say di two agencies fail to provide evidence on di burden to sustain dia Glomar responses. "Di FBI and DEA don both officially confam investigations of Tinubu wey relate to di drug trafficking ring - any privacy interests implicated by di FOIA requests to di FBI and DEA for records about Tinubu dey overcome by di public interest in release of such information. Di CIA don officially acknowledge records responsive to plaintiff FOIA request about Tinubu," di judge tok. Wetin be Glomar response? Agencies dey use Glomar response to refuse to deny or confam di existence of records wey pesin dey request for under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Glomar response no statutory backing, rather di Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) bin create dis form of FOIA determination itself in di case of Phillippi v. CIA wia di CIA bin refuse to confam or deny dia ties to a submarine retrieval ship wey dem dey call "Glomar Explorer.". Dem dey call di response judicially created response and courts don find say make dem only use am for rare circumstances wia confirming or denying di existence of records fit dey reasonably suspected to cause "cognizable harm" under a FOIA exemption. Wetin go happun next? E dey expected say di FBI and DEA go comply wit di court order to release. Di court say di remaining parties dey directed to file jointly, "by May 2, 2025, a report on di status of any outstanding issues in dis case, as described in di accompanying order". "An order wey dey consistent wit dis Memorandum Opinion go dey entered contemporaneously." Though Nigeria Presidency say lawyers dey examine di ruling of di court, e neva dey clear if dem go still comment on di mata afta di examination.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FBI must disclose more info about Trump classified docs case, judge rules
The dismissal of criminal charges against Donald Trump for concealing classified records at Mar-a-Lago eliminated a significant barrier to making records about the probe public, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said Trump's election as president — which forced the end of the criminal case — combined with the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity mean Trump is effectively insulated from any criminal responsibility for his conduct. That means the FBI's previous reasons for refusing to gather and disclose records related to the probe no longer apply, Howell wrote in a ruling in a Freedom of Information Act case brought by journalist Jason Leopold. She noted that while the dismissal of charges against Trump may have reduced his criminal exposure, it 'ironically' made him more susceptible to public scrutiny for his conduct. 'With the far dampened possibility of any criminal investigation to gather evidence about a president's conduct and of any public enforcement proceeding against a president, the [Supreme Court's] decision … has left a FOIA request as a critical tool for the American public to keep apprised of a president's conduct,' Howell ruled. She ordered the FBI to comb its records for documents responsive to the FOIA request and confer with Leopold about a timetable for release, providing an update to the court by Feb. 20. Howell's ruling comes amid an effort by public interest groups and congressional Democrats to access former special counsel Jack Smith's final report on Trump's concealment of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his first term. Trump faced dozens of felony charges in the case until they were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled last year that Smith's appointment was unlawful. After Trump won reelection, the Justice Department dropped its effort to reinstate the charges, and DOJ last month moved to similarly drop efforts to continue the case against Trump's former two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Typically, the FBI refuses to 'confirm or deny' the existence of a criminal investigation, a response meant to protect the secrecy of ongoing investigations and the privacy of people who may not ultimately be charged. But Howell said that rationale — known as a Glomar response — no longer applies to documents contained in Trump's Mar-a-Lago file. 'In these circumstances, defendants' Glomar arguments crumble with no more weight than dust and just as little persuasiveness,' Howell wrote. Howell noted that the investigators who led the Trump probe, whom she described as 'dedicated public servants who worked on and have the deepest knowledge of the facts underlying this investigation' had been 'summarily fired by the new Trump Administration.' And Howell wrote with disdain for the high court's immunity ruling, quoting freely from the liberal justices' dissenting opinion that described it as 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 added in a stinging 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.' Howell added that the ruling may have insulated the president criminally but could open doors to public records requests, given FOIA's command 'to allow the citizenry to 'know what its government is up to.''
Politico
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Politico
FBI must disclose more info about Trump classified docs case, judge rules
The dismissal of criminal charges against Donald Trump for concealing classified records at Mar-a-Lago eliminated a significant barrier to making records about the probe public, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said Trump's election as president — which forced the end of the criminal case — combined with the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity mean Trump is effectively insulated from any criminal responsibility for his conduct. That means the FBI's previous reasons for refusing to gather and disclose records related to the probe no longer apply, Howell wrote in a ruling in a Freedom of Information Act case brought by journalist Jason Leopold. She noted that while the dismissal of charges against Trump may have reduced his criminal exposure, it 'ironically' made him more susceptible to public scrutiny for his conduct. 'With the far dampened possibility of any criminal investigation to gather evidence about a president's conduct and of any public enforcement proceeding against a president, the [Supreme Court's] decision … has left a FOIA request as a critical tool for the American public to keep apprised of a president's conduct,' Howell ruled. She ordered the FBI to comb its records for documents responsive to the FOIA request and confer with Leopold about a timetable for release, providing an update to the court by Feb. 20. Howell's ruling comes amid an effort by public interest groups and congressional Democrats to access former special counsel Jack Smith's final report on Trump's concealment of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his first term. Trump faced dozens of felony charges in the case until they were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled last year that Smith's appointment was unlawful. After Trump won reelection, the Justice Department dropped its effort to reinstate the charges, and DOJ last month moved to similarly drop efforts to continue the case against Trump's former two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Typically, the FBI refuses to 'confirm or deny' the existence of a criminal investigation, a response meant to protect the secrecy of ongoing investigations and the privacy of people who may not ultimately be charged. But Howell said that rationale — known as a Glomar response — no longer applies to documents contained in Trump's Mar-a-Lago file. 'In these circumstances, defendants' Glomar arguments crumble with no more weight than dust and just as little persuasiveness,' Howell wrote. Howell noted that the investigators who led the Trump probe, whom she described as 'dedicated public servants who worked on and have the deepest knowledge of the facts underlying this investigation' had been 'summarily fired by the new Trump Administration.' And Howell wrote with disdain for the high court's immunity ruling, quoting freely from the liberal justices' dissenting opinion that described it as 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 added in a stinging 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.' Howell added that the ruling may have insulated the president criminally but could open doors to public records requests, given FOIA's command 'to allow the citizenry to 'know what its government is up to.''
