Court Holds Closed-Door Hearing in EPIC Mueller Report Case

A federal court in Washington, D.C. will hold a closed-door hearing with the Department of Justice today in EPIC's case for disclosure of the complete, unredacted Mueller Report. Judge Reggie B. Walton is currently conducting an "in camera" review of the full Report to determine what additional information must be released to public. In June, Judge Walton said that he could not "assess the merits of certain redactions without further representations from the Department" and ordered the DOJ to attend an "ex parte" (one-on-one) hearing. After several delays due to COVID-19, that hearing will be held this afternoon. The DOJ also provided written responses to the court in July, which revealed that Judge Walton had questioned every legal basis asserted by the DOJ to withhold material in the Mueller Report. As part of those responses, the DOJ conceded that it would have to disclose additional material from the Report. EPIC's Freedom of Information Act case—the first in the nation for the disclosure of the Mueller Report—is EPIC v. DOJ, No. 19-810.