A federal court in Washington, DC has ruled that the IRS may withhold President Trump's tax records sought by EPIC under the Freedom of Information Act. EPIC had argued that the IRS has the authority to release the records to correct numerous misstatements of fact concerning the President's financial ties to Russia. The President, for example, tweeted: "Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!" However, the Court ruled that “until President Trump or Congress authorizes release of the tax returns, EPIC (and the rest of the American public) will remain in the dark." EPIC v. IRS is one of three leading open government cases concerning Russian interference with the 2016 Presidential election. In EPIC v. ODNI, EPIC is seeking the release of the complete report on the scope of the attack. In EPIC v. FBI, EPIC is seeking information about the FBI’s response to the attack. EPIC will continue to pursue the release of President’s Trump’s tax records and related evidence of financial relations with the Russian government.
A federal appeals court has ruled in an open government case with implications for informational privacy. The court concluded that “there may be a basis for redaction” of personal information in government records “where disclosure would likely result in threats, harassment, and violence.” EPIC filed an amicus brief in the case arguing that withholding personal information safeguards open government and is constitutionally required. "Open government laws and privacy laws are complimentary: the aim is to maximize both the public's access to information about the government and to safeguard personal privacy to the greatest extent feasible," EPIC wrote. EPIC has argued for similar privacy protections in ATF v. Chicago, Chicago Tribune v. University of Illinois, Ostergren v. Cuccinelli, NASA v. Nelson, and FCC v. AT&T.
Federal prosecutors in Washington, DC are demanding that an internet hosting service turn over vast amounts of personally identifying data from a website used to organize Inauguration Day protests, including a reported 1.3 million IP logs. DreamHost, the hosting service, has refused to comply with the government's warrant. In a court filing DreamHost argued that prosecutors are attempting "to identify the political dissidents of the current administration" and that the government's data demand is far too broad. In 2006, EPIC opposed a similar government demand—later dropped—for week's worth of search queries entered into Google. EPIC recently filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court urging the Court to safeguard the First Amendment right to read in the digital era.
