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Violent rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
A federal judge has demanded that the Trump administration stop removing video or court records related to Jan. 6 from government websites after attorneys for a coalition of news organizations noticed that online databases were being scrubbed this week.
The press coalition — which includes ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, The New York Times Company and The Washington Post, among several others — filed court documents in the District of Columbia on Tuesday accusing the Trump administration of purging video and records in wake of his executive order pardoning and dismissing charges for all Jan. 6 rioters.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg slammed the brakes on Trump’s alleged video purge, saying government officials must identify any other videos that have been removed and provide reasons as to why they’re being plucked from U.S. databases. Boasberg, a Barack Obama appointee, ordered the government to identify all videos and records removed from USA File Exchange — aka USAfx — and offer up explanations by Feb. 26.
“Over the past four years, this Court and the other District Judges in this District have repeatedly ordered the government to make such riot-related records publicly accessible through an electronic drop box on the government’s ‘USAfx’ portal,” the news coalition explained in a Tuesday motion, which was aimed at ensuring “continued access” to video exhibits and judicial records submitted in criminal Jan. 6 cases.
“Within the past week, however, certain video exhibits submitted in connection with the sentencing of at least one Capitol riot defendant have disappeared from that drop box,” the motion said (citations omitted), referencing Jan. 6 rioter Glen Simon, who pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. “The press coalition conferred with government counsel about that disappearance and, as of this filing, government counsel have offered no explanation for why these judicial records are no longer publicly accessible or whether any other Capitol riot records that were previously available on USAfx have disappeared as well.”
Lawyers for the news outlets say that before the online sweep, the Simon case folder on USAfx contained nine video files, labeled “Exhibits 1-9” in the database.
“That folder is now empty,” their motion alleged Tuesday.
Government officials were asked via email on Feb. 10 to “restore” the videos and records, and they responded to by saying they would get back to the news outlets and legal teams “as expeditiously as possible,” according to court records.
“As of this filing, however, the government has not provided any further response, and the Simon video exhibits remain missing from USAfx,” the motion said.
“The video exhibits are judicial records subject to the public rights of access under the First Amendment and common law, and judges have determined, case by case, that the public is entitled to access each of the video exhibits,” the motion argued. “That right of access does not dissipate merely because all of the Capitol Case defendants have been pardoned. To the contrary, the public interest in ensuring that the Video Exhibits remain available in the future is all the greater, given that these videos are immutable and represent the truth, no matter how the events of January 6 are described by those charged or their allies.”
The Trump administration had not responded to Boasberg’s request as of Wednesday afternoon, according to court records.
The press coalition’s fight to protect Jan. 6 databases comes as the Trump administration continues to be accused of deploying efforts to “rewrite” history when it comes to the 2021 Capitol attack.
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The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a federal watchdog group, penned an open letter last month to the inspector general of the Department of Justice and the archivist of the United States, urging them to “take action” and investigate the DOJ’s removal of its Jan. 6 database, detailing criminal charges and convictions — which they call a “likely violation” of federal law.
“The Department of Justice’s removal of this vital information about its prosecutions arising from the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol is consistent with President Trump’s ongoing efforts to rewrite or erase the insurrection,” the CREW letter reads. “We request that you promptly investigate this matter and take appropriate corrective action if necessary.”
