In response to a lawsuit by BuzzFeed News, the government said that just because Trump demanded that the Russia investigation be declassified, it doesn’t mean he wanted the Russia investigation to be declassified.
A federal judge Friday ordered the Justice Department to find out directly from President Donald Trump whether he really intended to declassify all Russia investigation documents without redactions when he tweeted exactly that last week.
The judge’s directive was issued in response to two emergency motions filed last week by BuzzFeed News seeking the immediate release of Russia-related documents in response to Trump’s tweets.
The move by the judge could be a watershed moment for those who have gone to court and sought the release of records based on the president’s tweets. For nearly four years, the government’s position has been that Trump’s tweets should not be taken literally, while in other instances the government has argued that they’re official statements. Continue reading.