Conservative firm America First Legal (AFL) announced on Thursday a new lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s Department of Defense.
It alleged the agency suppressed records concerning the Obama-founded Presidential Information Technology Committee (PITC) and former President Donald Trump. The committee was established to enhance information systems and information resources available to the president.
In its filing, AFL lawyers declared that the committee held documents it sought under the Freedom of Information Act. These materials “could exonerate” former President Trump in the ongoing federal case involving classified materials.
Attorneys asserted that the PITC indicates the chief executive controls information they receive. This would theoretically prove that Trump believed he was correct in holding on to the materials that he possessed at his Florida home.
The AFL argued that the records allegedly destroyed by the former president are still present within the DOD through the Obama-era system. Thus, this would nullify the prosecution’s assertion that they were gotten rid of.
It was further presented that if Jack Smith’s prosecution was assisted by information contained by PITC, this should have been revealed to Trump’s legal team.
BREAKING: Biden’s DOD has been sued for allegedly concealing 'secretive Obama order' that could exonerate Trump in seized documents case. pic.twitter.com/t1v2kONzmS
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) April 5, 2024
America First Legal was founded by former Trump White House advisor Stephen Miller. It quickly became influential as an active legal firm and defender of conservative causes.
AFL Vice President Dan Epstein released a statement asserting that the lawsuit “raises significant legal questions the Biden administration must confront.”
For example, PITC assumes that all communications received by the U.S. president are within their control. Epstein said this clearly “complicates the indictment by the Special Counsel’s Office, particularly on the question of what President Trump was authorized to access and retain.”
Epstein added that another key issue is whether records subject to PITC are agency or presidential materials. Realizing that they were also preserved by the DOD, this calls into question the decision by the National Archives to refer Trump to the Department of Justice.
That referral, Epstein noted, “would be based on the false claim that President Trump removed presidential records.”
