Judicial Watch
WASHINGTON, DC – Judicial Watch filed a second Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for records and communications regarding the Internal Revenue Service’s investigation of Hunter Biden (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No.1:24-cv-03387).
Judicial Watch filed an earlier FOIA lawsuit in July 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Department of Justice failed to respond to a May 2023 FOIA request for access to public records of Special Counsel Jack Smith. During the course of this suit, the Justice Department invoked Exemption 7(a) to withhold records due to an ongoing law enforcement proceeding regarding Hunter Biden, and the suit was dismissed.
In light of the recent pardon issued by the president to Hunter Biden, no open law enforcement proceedings remain. However, the original FOIA request remains open, and Judicial Watch filed the new complaint stating:
[T]he Justice Department has failed to produce the requested records or demonstrate that the requested records are lawfully exempt from production; notify Judicial Watch of the scope of any responsive records it intends to produce or withhold and the reasons for any withholdings; or inform Judicial Watch that it may appeal any adequately specific, adverse determination.
“This is a perfect opportunity for the Trump Justice Department to expose the extent of IRS/DOJ corruption to cover up Biden family corruption,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Justice Department is lawfully required to release all responsive records requested by Judicial Watch.”
Judicial Watch has multiple federal lawsuits focused on Biden family corruption:
In June 2024, Judicial Watch received records from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) showing Mike Morell, former acting CIA director under President Obama, requesting CIA permission to publish a letter by former intelligence community leaders stating that they believed the laptop emails exposing Hunter Biden’s connections to Ukraine were Russian disinformation. Morrell’s request for prepublication review was approved in just six hours by the CIA.
In May 2023, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the National Archives for Biden family records and communications regarding travel and finance transactions, as well as communications between the Bidens and several known business associates.
On October 14, 2022, Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department for all records in the possession of FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten regarding an August 6, 2020, briefing provided to members of the U.S. Senate. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) raised concerns that the briefing was intended to undermine the senators’ investigation of Hunter Biden.
In December 2020, State Department records obtained through a Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit showed that former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch had specifically warned in 2017 about corruption allegations against Burisma Holdings.
In October 2020, Judicial Watch forced the release of State Department records that included a briefing checklist of a February 22, 2019, meeting in Kyiv between then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Sally Painter, co-founder and chief operating officer of Blue Star Strategies, a Democratic lobbying firm which was hired by Burisma Holdings to combat corruption allegations. At the time of the meeting, Hunter Biden was serving on the board of directors for Burisma Holdings.
In his new book Rights and Freedoms in Peril Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton details a long chain of abuses officials and politicians have made against the American people and calls readers to battle for “the soul and survival of America.”
