A federal judge has given the Federal Bureau of Investigation until July 3 to respond to The Star News Network’s lawsuit demanding the agency turn over the manifesto and related records of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer.
The FBI had sought to delay the proceedings by another two weeks or a full month.
The Star News Network filed a lawsuit against the FBI more than a month ago, alleging the law enforcement agency has broken a critical First Amendment guard in repeatedly denying Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the records.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee, the lawsuit asks the court to order the FBI to release Hale’s manifesto and related documents and to issue a declaration that the agency violated FOIA in denying the request for the information.
It’s been more than two and a half months since Hale, a 28-year-old woman who reportedly identified as a transgender male, stormed into the Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville and shot dead three 9-year-old students and three staff members.
The FBI and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) have refused to turn over the documents. The Star News Network is part of a multi-party public records lawsuit against Metro Nashville, as well.
Attorneys for the FBI had sought a one-month extension to respond to The Star News Network’s motion for summary judgment against the federal law enforcement agency. The bureau asked the court if it could delay its response until July 17.
Dan Lennington, deputy counsel for the Wisconsin Law & Liberty (WILL), the Milwaukee-based public interest law firm representing The Star News Network in the lawsuit, consented to a two-week extension.
U.S. District Court Judge Aleta A. Trauger agreed with the plaintiffs, ordering the FBI to respond to the summary judgment motion by July 3.
The Star News Network sought the documents — including journal entries, notes, plans, and other writings — from the FBI through two Freedom of Information Act requests dating back nearly two months. Each request asked the agency to expedite the release. In both instances, the FBI quickly denied the requests, ultimately asserting that “there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to” the requested records. Releasing the documents, the FBI said, “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
WILL, in late April, filed an administrative appeal with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy.
The DOJ rejected the appeal, asserting that it is “reasonably foreseeable” that turning over the records would “harm the interests protected” by federal statute. Again, the Department of Justice laid claim to protecting some nebulous prospective law enforcement proceeding, although the agency has not explained just what that could be. Hale was fatally shot by responding police officers within minutes of her rampage at the Nashville private school. There would appear to be no proceeding to protect.
“Hale is dead and no threat remains to the public related to the events of March 27. There is no criminal prosecution, investigation, or anything resembling an “enforcement proceeding,’” the lawsuit states. “FBI is apparently attempting to interpret the manifesto, but at this point, interpreting or reviewing the manifesto is an academic exercise and certainly not an enforcement proceeding. In short, there is simply no reason why FBI cannot release the manifesto.”
MNPD and Metro Nashville government have made the same arguments, asserting an “ongoing” investigation could take a year to complete.
Attorneys for the DOJ’s Civil Division, which will ultimately handle the case, complained to Trauger that they haven’t had enough time to “confer fully with [FBI attorneys] about this case to develop a response” to the motion for summary judgment.
“While Plaintiffs allege that ‘the public has an urgent right to know why this tragedy happened,’ … they offer no allegations as to why their planned reporting ‘on the motivations of shooting,’ …. would be stale or less relevant after the one-month extension Defendant seeks,” the DOJ’s court filing asserts.
The Star News Network has been clear in its argument that Hale’s manifesto and related writings are important documents that would shed light on the mass shooter’s actions and are subject to release under Tennessee’s Open Records law.
“The release of these records is critical to understanding the mind and actions of a mass murderer, and can help form public policy to most effectively protect American citizens,” said Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief of The Star News Network and CEO of parent company Star News Digital Media, Inc., headquartered in Nashville.
“We believe the public’s right to know is so important that we are willing to challenge the most powerful law enforcement agency in America.”
Read Judge Trauger’s order:
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Background Photo “Audrey Hale” by Metro Nashville Police Department.
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