Court Orders DOJ to Release Records on Coordination wiht Fulton County DA in Trump Election Case
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release communications related to potential coordination between Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump. This ruling marks a important victory for Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group that has been aggressively pursuing these records through a Freedom of Facts Act (FOIA) lawsuit.
The core of the dispute centered on the DOJ’s invocation of the “Glomar doctrine,” a legal principle allowing agencies to withhold information when it’s disclosure could harm national security or ongoing investigations. However, U.S. district judge Friedrich resolute this justification no longer holds water.
Why the Ruling Matters
The judge’s Jan. 28 order explicitly stated that with the termination of Smith’s criminal enforcement actions – and, crucially, the shifting landscape following Smith’s own resignation – the risk of jeopardizing a case has evaporated. As Friedrich wrote, the cases are “closed” and therefore disclosure “may not interfere” with any proceedings.
This means the DOJ must now process Judicial Watch’s FOIA request and either release the requested records or demonstrate a valid exemption to disclosure,one that hasn’t already been waived. You can view the embedded court document