CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER

Trump White House Redacts Nearly All of OMB Ukraine Aid Documents Ordered by Federal Court

Federal judge had ordered administration to produce records reflecting what these officials said to one another about the legality and appropriateness of Trump’s order.

The Trump administration has refused to disclose how key officials at the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget reacted to the president’s decision to halt military aid to Ukraine, a move that is at the heart of the impeachment proceedings against him. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the administration on Nov. 25 to produce records reflecting what these officials said to one another about the legality and appropriateness of Trump’s order. The Center for Public Integrity sought the information in Freedom of Information Act requests in late September. On Thursday, however, Public Integrity received 146 pages of documents that had been almost completely redacted by the government. Every substantive exchange between officials at the agencies was blacked out. Public Integrity will file a motion Friday challenging the government’s response. “We are deeply disappointed that the public won’t have access to this important information at the heart of the impeachment process. But we will continue to fight to ensure that the documents see the light of day,” said Public Integrity’s chief executive officer, Susan Smith Richardson.