A nonprofit watchdog group has filed a lawsuit in federal court, demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) release documents related to its surveillance of a bipartisan group of congressional staff investigators. The group had previously submitted five Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for these records, but the DOJ never provided them. The surveillance was conducted through government demands on Google and other internet service providers for copies of correspondence and related documents by multiple congressional investigators.
The organization behind the lawsuit is called Empower Oversight, which is led by two veteran congressional investigators, Tristan Leavitt and Jason Foster. Leavitt served as senior counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and deputy special counsel for the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, while Foster was senior counsel for Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and investigative counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In addition to opposing the DOJ’s motions to impose nondisclosure orders on internet firms, Empower Oversight claims that several other congressional staffers from both sides of the aisle were also included in this surveillance conducted by the DOJ. They argue that this compromised the anonymity of whistleblowers who were cooperating with Congress to expose waste and fraud in government.
An amicus brief filed by Government Accountability Project’s legal director supports Empower Oversight’s motion to unseal these documents. The brief argues that enforcing nondisclosure orders would interfere with Congress’ ability to educate itself about executive branch misconduct, violating constitutional Separation of Powers.
This lawsuit brings back memories of a 2014 incident when then-CIA Director John Brennan publicly apologized for his agency’s illegal surveillance of Senate staffers. However, much remains classified from a 6,700-page report by the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding this incident.
It is important to note that no response has been received from a spokesman representing DOJ regarding this matter at present.