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People For the American Way Foundation Files Urgent FOIA Request for Volume 2 of Smith Report

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WASHINGTON D.C. – People For the American Way Foundation today submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of Justice for a full and a redacted copy of the second volume of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into activities of Donald Trump: specifically, the portion of the report that concerns “mishandling of classified information” and related investigations and prosecutions. The first volume of the report, related to the January 6, 2021 effort to overturn results of the presidential election, has already been made public. 

Read the FOIA request here

“This request is urgent because in just a few days, the second Trump administration will take control of the Justice Department and it isn’t hard to predict what they may do to the remainder of the Smith report,” said President of People For the American Way Foundation Svante Myrick. “At the very least, our FOIA request should prevent immediate and willful destruction of the report, which is a real risk. Our main interest in bringing the report to light is that Congress and the American people deserve to know the truth about Donald Trump’s mishandling of highly sensitive information. It’s critically important that we understand the extent to which he, and other past and future members of his administration, put our national security at risk.”  

Attorney General Merrick Garland has said he will not release volume 2 of the Smith report while cases are still proceeding against other defendants who, along with Trump, were accused of participating in mishandling of sensitive documents. People For the American Way Foundation maintains that a FOIA request is necessary to prevent destruction of volume 2 of the report and to pave the way for eventual release of vital information.     

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About Us   People For the American Way Foundation is a national organization that educates and inspires Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. For more than four decades, we have been dedicated to making the promise of America real for everyone and have worked toward a vision of a vibrant America where basic rights and freedoms are upheld for all, not just the wealthy and the powerful.  Learn more: http://www.peoplefor.org