Attorneys for Star News Digital Media Inc., the parent company of The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network, filed a new motion on Tuesday to advance its ongoing lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which seeks to compel the full release of the manifesto written by Covenant school killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, after three manifesto pages were leaked on Monday.
In a motion prepared after a portion of Hale’s manifesto was obtained by conservative comedian and pundit Steven Crowder, The Star News Network asserted the leak proves, “assuming the three pages’ authenticity,” that the FBI “could have selectively released” redacted portions of the manifesto without jeopardizing ongoing investigations.
The FBI has yet to confirm the authenticity of the manifesto pages shared online, but the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed they are Hale’s writings in a statement released Monday night. Prior to that admission, The Star was among the first outlets to independently verify the pages were part of Hale’s manifesto.
In a July filing, the FBI previously argued that releasing even one page of the manifesto would jeopardize “active and ongoing” investigations related to “potential federal crimes, which could include whether underlying bias provided motivation in the attack, or if any co-conspirators or like-minded contacts were involved.”
The Star News Network motion notes that Hale is deceased, and the public portions of the manifesto “do not explain the bias or motivations of anyone else” or “suggest that another person committed a crime.” Accordingly, the motion states the FBI “cannot explain how revealing Hale’s hatred of her victims’ race and sexuality” could interfere with ongoing law enforcement action.
Though the FBI previously argued the manifesto includes evidence of “like-minded contacts” who may be charged with crimes, the motion explains that “nothing in these pages” of Hale’s manifesto “discusses co-conspirators or like-minded perpetrators,” and the only other parties mentioned in the public portions of the manifesto reference a “Nashville-area gun range” and “Nana,” who is believed to be Hale’s grandmother.
“If the disclosure of that business or ‘Nana’ would have impeded an investigation into co-conspirators, FBI could have easily redacted those references,” the motion charges.
“Because FBI is refusing to confirm” the authenticity of the pages, The Star News Network seeks limited discovery to compel the FBI to definitively state whether the documents were written by Hale.
If the agency admits the manifesto pages were written by Hale, The Star News Network asks the court to compel both sides to file additional briefs in which the FBI will be forced to explain what information in the manifesto should prevent its redacted release.
MNPD Lt. Brent Gibson told the federal court in July that he is not opposed to releasing portions of Hale’s manifesto that are not “related to the ongoing criminal investigation.”
An MNPD spokesman seemed to indicate to The Star that the leaked images of Hales’ manifesto originated from within law enforcement, which corroborates Crowder’s claim that a Nashville detective took the photographs depicting Hale’s manifesto.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
