Tag: FOIA

Available on Kindle: Morley v. CIA: My Unfinished JFK Investigation

Morley v. CIA
(l. to r.) USA Today reporter Ed Bracken attorney James Lesar, and plaintiff Jefferson Morley

In 2003 I sued the Central Intelligence Agency with the help of Washington D.C. attorney James Lesar. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), We sought public release of the files of a deceased undercover officer who was involved in the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In the new Kindle ebook, Morley v. CIA: My Unfinished JFK Investigation, I tell the story of the epic 16-year legal saga that followed. It’s a brisk read, funny, disturbing and revealing about where the rest of the JFK assassination story is hidden: in the CIA’s archives.

The hero of the story is Lesar, a dogged litigator taking on high-powered Justice Department lawyers. The villain is a judge named Brett Kavanaugh.

Read more here

In his last decision before his Supreme Court nomination, Brett Kavanaugh sided with the CIA

 

kavanaugh trump
Brett Kavanaugh, the future of justice?

The D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on July 9th that the CIA does not have to pay my court costs incurred in the long-running FOIA lawsuit Morley v. CIA. The split decision was joined by Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was nominated by President Trump later that day to serve on the the Supreme Court. …

Kavanaugh’s judicial activism on display

Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Kavanaugh, creative jurist

On the second day of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, the Supreme Court nominee’s legal record is under close scrutiny. While far from is most important ruling, his last signed opinion as an appellate court judge provides a window into his judicial philosophy.

In a split decision on July 9, Kavanaugh’s vote decided my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for certain JFK assassination files. As fellow judge Karen Henderson pointed out in a stinging dissent, the majority decision ignored precedent and invented mandate.

Substantively, Kavanaugh’s decision undermined a key feature of FOIA law and strengthened the CIA and other agencies that want to keep embarrassing secrets out of the public record–even when they are more than 50 years old. That’s why I’m appealing the decision.

Appeal filed on Brett Kavanaugh’s anti-FOIA decision

kavanaugh trump
Brett Kavanaugh announced.

The last opinion signed by Brett Kavanaugh before his nomination to the Supreme Court dealt a blow to a key provision of the Freedom of Information Action: compensation for successful litigant.

On July 9, Kavanaugh joined a 2-1 majority decision in Morley v. CIA that held that the government did not have to pay my court costs because the CIA had acted reasonably and there was no benefit to the information obtained.

In a powerful dissent, Judge Karen Henderson rebuked Kavanaugh and Judge Gregory Katsas for ignoring precedent and inventing mandate.

Judge Karen Henderson dissents from Brett Kavanaugh’s decision favoring CIA

Judge Karen Henderson
Judge Karen Henderson, JFK dissenter

Click for here Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s July 9 decision in Morley v CIA,

Morley v CIA is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking release of certain CIA files related to the assassination of President John F Kennedy in November 1963.

in his last decision before being nominated by President Trump to serve on the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh ruled in favor of the CIA.

Judge Karen Henderson, first appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, dissented: …

Scroll to Top