Biden’s Department of Justice is Still Dragging its Feet on Crossfire Hurricane Transparency
BUTLER
COUNTY, IOWA – Following a January 2021 order from then-President Trump to
declassify records related to the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation, the
Justice Department has made no apparent progress toward transparency and has
rebuffed numerous inquiries from members of Congress on the matter.
Senate
Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member
of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are
seeking full transparency on what steps Attorney General Garland has taken, or
failed to take, to declassify records relating to Crossfire Hurricane for
public dissemination. In their letter to Attorney General Garland, the senators
are requesting an immediate update on the status of these records and their
readiness for public disclosure.
Full
text of the senators’ letter to the Attorney General can be found HERE.
October 13, 2021
The
Honorable Merrick Garland
Attorney
General
Department
of Justice
Dear
Attorney General Garland:
On
January 19, 2021, then-President Trump issued a memorandum to the Attorney General,
Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency directing them to declassify certain Crossfire Hurricane records for
public dissemination.[ On February 25, 2021, our
respective staffs requested an update from the Justice Department with respect
to when a full and complete set of declassified records would be provided to
Congress.
Since
then, our respective staffs have had countless emails and phone calls
requesting updates on your office’s efforts to follow through on President
Trump’s declassification directive, to which your office has consistently
failed to provide any substantive update. Indeed, to-date, the Justice
Department has not produced a single declassified record to Congress and the
American people. Unfortunately, this specific example of the Biden
Justice Department’s failure to produce responsive material is consistent with
its pattern and practice under your leadership.
As
we have noted to you, the declassification of these records is not just a
matter responsive to ongoing congressional oversight; it is a matter of
posterity. Crossfire Hurricane has been the subject of many public
reports, letters, hearings and document productions. Accordingly, this
cannot be overstated – the public has a right to possess these records.
We
request an immediate update on what steps, if any, you have taken to declassify
Crossfire Hurricane records and when they will be produced to Congress.
If you have failed to take any steps, please explain why that is the
case.
Sincerely,
-30-
