September, 22 2008, 11:11am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Naomi Seligman // 202.408.5565
Judges Issues Order Directing Cheney and CREW To Confer On Discovery In Records Lawsuit
WASHINGTON
Today in CREW v. Cheney, District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued an order directing the parties to confer on the need for discovery before briefing on the merits. This order follows her ruling on Saturday ordering the vice president and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to preserve all records, widely defined, as the law requires.
Anne Weismann, CREW's chief counsel said today, "By this order, the court appears to recognize the need for additional fact-finding beyond what the OVP has attested in sworn declarations it is preserving and we anticipate that it will lead to depositions of White House officials in the very near future."
In the lawsuit, which was filed on September 9, 2008, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was joined by historians and archivists against Vice President Cheney, the OVP and the National Archives and Records Administration because of their unlawfully narrow interpretation of their obligations under the President Records Act.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach.
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Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) 2024 roundup, which was published Thursday, found that at least 54 journalists were killed on the job or in connection with their work this year, and 18 of them were killed by Israeli armed forces (16 in Palestine, and two in Lebanon).
The organization has also filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court "for war crimes committed by the Israeli army against journalists," according to the roundup, which includes stats from January 1 through December 1.
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