November, 02 2022, 01:43pm EDT
CREW Sues Over Missing Jan. 6 Texts
WASHINGTON
Multiple government agencies violated the Federal Records Act by failing to preserve text messages from January 2021 that are now missing, according to a new lawsuit filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The Secret Service, DHS, DOD, Army and National Archives have all failed to take enforcement action to recover missing texts and restore deleted texts from multiple Trump administration officials, and retrieve government records from former acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli's personal phone.
The missing records include text messages from top Trump administration officials at DHS, the Secret Service, DOD and the Army that were improperly deleted after being requested as part of investigations into the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. They also include government records from Cuccinelli's personal phone that currently remain, unlawfully, outside of the government's custody. The agencies have known for months about the records being unlawfully deleted, but have failed to enforce the FRA through the Attorney General, as the law requires.
"Missing and destroyed federal records from top officials undermine government transparency and accountability, and it is imperative that agencies are complying with record-keeping laws," said CREW Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel Donald Sherman. "The loss of these particular federal records would leave a major gap in the factual record concerning the January 6th attack on the Capitol, impeding efforts to obtain answers and accountability for an unprecedented assault on American democracy."
The FRA has mandatory enforcement provisions which "require[] an agency head and [the] Archivist to take enforcement action through the Attorney General whenever they become aware of records being unlawfully removed or destroyed" and "leave no discretion to determine which cases to pursue." The missing records may contain critical evidence concerning the January 6th attack on the Capitol and could shed light on the reasons for the government's lack of preparedness for the attack, the government's day-of response, and the actions or inaction of key White House and Trump administration officials on and around the insurrection.
"These missing records are the property of the American public, and the government has a legal duty to recover them," said Sherman. "Government records must be preserved or retrieved when removed from federal custody, especially when they are critical to issues of public concern."
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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Critics Blast 'Reckless and Impossible' Bid to Start Operating Mountain Valley Pipeline
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Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
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Appalachian Voices noted that MVP's request comes days before pipeline developer Equitrans Midstream is set to release its 2024 first-quarter earnings information on April 30.
MVP is set to traverse much of Virginia and West Virginia, with the Southgate extension running into North Carolina. Outgoing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other pipeline proponents fought to include expedited construction of the project in the debt ceiling deal negotiated between President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans last year.
On Monday, climate and environmental defenders also petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging FERC's approval of the MVP's planned Southgate extension, contending that the project is so different from original plans that the government's previous assent is now irrelevant.
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David Sligh, conservation director at Wild Virginia, said: "Approving the Southgate project is irresponsible. This project will pose the same kinds of threats of damage to the environment and the people along its path as we have seen caused by the Mountain Valley Pipeline during the last six years."
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U.S. workers' rights advocates and groups celebrated on Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a ban on most noncompete clauses, which Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khansaid "keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism."
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Demand Progress' Emily Peterson-Cassin similarly commended the commission "for taking a strong stance against this egregious use of corporate power, thereby empowering workers to switch jobs and launch new ventures, and unlocking billions of dollars in worker earnings."
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Democracy defenders on Tuesday hailed a ruling from a U.S. federal judge striking down a 19th-century North Carolina law criminalizing people who vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision due to a felony conviction.
In Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs—an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama—sided with the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute and Action NC, who argued that the 1877 law discriminated against Black people.
"The challenged statute was enacted with discriminatory intent, has not been cleansed of its discriminatory taint, and continues to disproportionately impact Black voters," Biggs wrote in her 25-page ruling.
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According to Forward Justice—a nonpartisan law, policy, and strategy center dedicated to advancing racial, social, and economic justice in the U.S. South, "Although Black people constitute 21% of the voting-age population in North Carolina, they represent 42% of the people disenfranchised while on probation, parole, or post-release supervision."
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As similar battles play out in other states, Democratic U.S. lawmakers led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont in December introduced legislation to end former felon disenfranchisement in federal elections and guarantee incarcerated people the right to vote.
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