As the fifth anniversary of January 6 approaches, a prominent watchdog organization has initiated a legal case against the U.S. Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the FBI, directed by Kash Patel. The suit aims to uncover top officials’ communication records concerning President Donald Trump’s pardons for his supporters and alleged misuse of governmental authority.

American Oversight, a nonprofit with a progressive agenda, launched the lawsuit on Monday in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. The group seeks emails and texts to illuminate the behind-the-scenes communications of senior officials on January 6, efforts to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election, and attempts to mitigate repercussions, including via pardons, for the involved parties.

The lawsuit argues these communications are vital to understanding the federal government’s investigation into—and attempts to alter the narrative of—what is considered one of the most severe threats to American democracy in history.

To fulfill its mission of advocating for transparency and accountability in government, American Oversight filed FOIA requests with the FBI and DOJ. These requests sought access to officials’ text messages and emails related to January 6, the Capitol assault, efforts to subvert the 2020 election results, clemency for the rioters, and misuse of power against Trump’s perceived political adversaries. Having received no response to their requests, American Oversight has now turned to the courts, citing FOIA and the Declaratory Judgment Act to seek legal remedies and enforce compliance with FOIA mandates.

The organization is particularly interested in obtaining “non-exempt records” of communications involving Patel and former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino concerning their connections to conservative media outlets, as well as discussions about the “Weaponization Working Group.” This group was established by Bondi and former Trump defense attorney Emil Bove, who is now a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Through Defendants’ failure to respond to American Oversight’s FOIA requests within the time period required by law, American Oversight has constructively exhausted its administrative remedies and seeks immediate judicial review,” the suit asserted.

American Oversight Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said in a statement that “secrecy” about “how the Trump administration has handled the aftermath of the president’s violent attack on our democracy” is “dangerous.”

“It may be hiding efforts to turn our justice system into a tool for personal and political payback — using pardons to protect allies who are committed to undermining future elections and settling scores,” Chukwu said. “Secrecy erodes accountability, and ignoring unlawful conduct weakens the very safeguards that protect free and fair elections. Ensuring access to these records is a necessary step toward restoring trust, confronting the truth, and preventing future abuses.”

The DOJ will likely oppose this attempt to pry loose internal communications.

The plaintiff group has brought a number of lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security, the DOJ, Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and more, with aims of compelling public disclosure.

Most recently, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed jurist who tossed out the then-candidate’s Mar-a-Lago prosecution, denied American Oversight’s attempt to intervene in the shuttered criminal case, as the group attempted to clear the way for the release of Volume II of ex-special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the willful retention of classified documents and obstruction probe.

American Oversight is now appealing that denial, along with the Knight First Amendment Institute, at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.