The Star News Network asked a federal court on Thursday to issue summary judgment declaring the Federal Bureau of Investigation violated the law and must immediately turn over the Covenant Killer’s manifesto and related records.
Star News and its parent company, Star News Digital Media Inc., earlier this month filed a federal lawsuit against the FBI demanding it release the relevant writings of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the mass murderer who in late March shot dead three 9-year-olds and three staff members at Nashville’s Covenant Presbyterian School.
“The FBI has given no indication that they intend to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), therefore we are asking the federal court to require FBI to turn over the manifesto as soon as possible without any further delay,” said Dan Lennington, deputy counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), the Milwaukee-based law firm representing Star News Digital Media.
Michael Patrick Leahy, Editor-in-Chief of The Star News Network and CEO of Star News Digital Media, Inc., headquartered in Nashville, and this reporter, are also plaintiffs in the case.
The motion, filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, asks the judge to rule in favor of the complainants without proceeding to trial. Star News is seeking the release of the Hale manifesto — including journal entries, notes, plans, and other writings — as well as a decision finding the FBI has violated FOIA law in rejecting the news organization’s requests for the records.
“Plaintiffs brought this lawsuit, and now this motion for summary judgment, to put FBI to the test,” the court documents state.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, the burden rests on the government: The FBI must either identify evidence supporting an ongoing “enforcement proceeding” or turn over the manifesto.
“Whatever FBI claims it is doing with the manifesto, it is not an ‘enforcement proceeding,’ which is an exception that must be narrowly construed. The presumption under FOIA is openness; not secrecy. Plaintiffs are therefore entitled to summary judgment,” the motion asserts.
The FBI had yet to answer the lawsuit as of press time.
The Star News Network requested the agency expedite the release of the Hale documents. In both instances, the FBI quickly denied the records 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.”
“What enforcement proceedings?” the lawsuit argues. Hale is dead. Responding police officers fatally shot the 28-year-old woman and former Covenant School student who reportedly identified as a transgender male.
FBI officials have quickly released such manifestos and related files in myriad other mass shootings, a point detailed in the lawsuit.
Star News Media Digital is also a plaintiff in a consolidated state court lawsuit seeking the release of the records from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. The MNPD has refused to turn over the Hale records, similarly claiming the investigation is ongoing and that prematurely releasing the documents could cause “harmful and irreversible consequences.” Contrary to previous public statements, police have recently claimed that their investigation is ongoing and that it could take a year to complete.
Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles earlier this week issued orders allowing the Covenant Presbyterian Church, the school and parents of children attending the school to intervene in the lawsuit. A show cause hearing is scheduled for June 8.
Read the motion for summary judgement:
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network
Keep up the pressure on the FBI. There is no logical reason for them to sit on the Covenant killer’s manifesto.
It makes you wonder what & why are they so invested.
When are we gonna get a court ruling to find out how much Tennessee tax money was spent dealing with Scotty Campbell’s sexual harrassment problems. When???