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Vogel v. Department of Justice (NYT Fara FOIA)

About the Case

The Clinic represents the New York Times and reporter Ken Vogel in litigation over a FOIA request to the Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning the operations of the DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit. At issue are communications relating to the Unit’s work involving Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, and others with ties to the Trump campaign and administration.

In 2018 the Clinic filed a motion for summary judgment and an opposition to the government’s summary judgment motion. In the spring of 2019, two Clinic students argued the case before a magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York.  In July the magistrate judge ruled in favor of the government.  But, as part of the litigation, the government released redacted versions of previously-secret declarations in the case, as well as documents it had previously withheld that had been made public in other contexts. We are now in the process of negotiating with the government over remaining documents not covered by the magistrate’s July ruling.