The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a public interest research center in Washington, DC, established in 1994 “to focus public attention on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age,” has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to acquire the entire unredacted Mueller Report (Case No. No. 19-810.)
EPIC filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit on March 22, 2019 in which it sought to “obtain the complete final report by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller concerning Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.” The lawsuit was the first of it’s kind in the country.
The EPIC website states:
The public has a right to know the full scope of Russian efforts to disrupt the 2016 election and whether the President of the United States played any role such efforts. The public also has a right to know whether the President unlawfully obstructed any investigation into Russian election interference or related matters. The Mueller Report and related Special Counsel records are vital to the public’s understanding of these issues and to the integrity of the political system of the United States.
In a press release issued yesterday, EPIC announced that the DOJ has now submitted the entire Mueller Report to federal judge Reggie B. Walton. Judge Walton’s task will be to review the report and determine whether the DOJ improperly withheld information from the report in the EPIC vs. DOJ case.
According to the press release:
The judge’s review of the Mueller Report marks one of the most significant “in camera” reviews in the history of the Freedom of Information Act.
Judge Walton will also examine a related memo obtained by EPIC to determine what additional material must be released to EPIC and the public.