CNN filed a lawsuit in federal court on Thursday seeking the FBI to turn over James Comey’s memos documenting his conversations with President Donald Trump.
The move comes a week after the former FBI Director testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee and described writing the memos as well as their contents, which date back to his first meeting with Trump in early January.
The lawsuit claims the FBI has yet to make the memos available or give reason for not doing so, despite the company filing of a Freedom of Information Act request.
“The public has a right to see them,” CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker said during a press event on Thursday.
“It’s in everybody’s interest and we are happy to take the lead on that, and we think that it’s in pursuit of the journalism that we do everyday. We think those should be part of the public record so we filed a suit this morning.”
The filing, released by CNN on its website, reads: “This is an action brought pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act for declaratory, injunctive, and other appropriate relief, seeking the immediate processing of CNN’s request to the FBI for records prepared by former FBI Director James B. Comey, Jr., that document his interactions with President Donald J. Trump, and the immediate release of those records.”
It goes on: “Despite the great urgency in informing the public about these records, and in absolute disregard for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy’s decision directing the expedited processing of CNN’s request, the FBI has failed to respond to the request within the time required by the FOIA.”
In his testimony last week, Comey said he documented a series of private meetings with Trump that resulted in a series of nine memos initially only distributed to a small number of FBI colleagues. During the hearing, Comey revealed that he also gave the memos to a friend with the purpose of providing details to the media.
The leak resulted in The New York Times publishing a story on May 16 which included Comey’s account of a Feb. 14 meeting in the Oval Office. In it, he claims Trump urged him to shut down the FBI’s investigation of Michael Flynn.
Comey said his copies of the memos are now in the possession of the special prosecutor, Robert Mueller, who is now investigating whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice, according to a report published by The Washington Post Wednesday.
James Comey Timeline: Events That Led to FBI Director's Firing (Photos)
For the first time since 1993, a U.S. president has fired a director of the FBI. Comey's final year as head of the Bureau before his dismissal Tuesday was wrought with controversy, as Democrats and Republicans alike criticized him for his handling of the FBI's investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails and possible connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. Here's how we got to this point:
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July 2013: Disgraced former NY Congressman Anthony Weiner sees his campaign for New York mayor derailed when screenshots of explicit conversations between him and several women are leaked. His wife, Huma Abedin, who was deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State, stands by him.
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September 2013: President Barack Obama appoints James Comey as FBI Director. Comey served as U.S. Deputy Attorney General from 2003-2005 and had worked in the intervening years at Lockheed Martin and HSBC, among other private sector jobs.
April 2015: Hillary Clinton announces her campaign for the president just weeks after The New York Times reported that she used a personal email server as Secretary of State. Abedin is named vice-chairwoman of her campaign.
July 2016: After investigating Clinton's emails, Comey announces that the FBI does not recommend charging Clinton in connection to the personal server. Two days later, Comey is questioned by a Republican-led House Committee about his recommendation.
August 2016: Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin announce their separation after reports surface that Weiner had sent explicit text messages to another woman.
September 2016: Reports surface that Weiner had sent illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, prompting a federal investigation. During the investigation, authorities seize a laptop belonging to Weiner and Abedin.
Oct. 28, 2016: Comey sends a letter to Congress informing members that Abedin's laptop may contain emails linked to the Clinton investigation. Clinton calls on the FBI to release all the information they have.
Nov. 6, 2016: Comey writes another letter saying that nothing new was found on Abedin's laptop, with Newsweek reporting that most of the emails found were ones forwarded by Abedin so she could print them. Two days after Comey sends the second letter, Hillary Clinton loses the presidential election to Donald Trump.
March 2017: Comey reveals during a House Intelligence Committee hearing that the FBI is performing an investigation into possible connections between the Kremlin and members of Trump's campaign.
May 3, 2017: Comey testifies in Congress again, this time before a Senate Committee about the details of the FBI's investigation into Clinton's email server. He says that Abedin had forwarded "forwarded hundreds and thousands of emails, some of which contain classified information" to Weiner to print out of convenience.
May 9, 2017: ProPublica and the Associated Press report that Comey had exaggerated the number of emails found in the laptop and that none of the emails were classified when sent. Later that day, Comey is fired from his position by Donald Trump.
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Comey’s four-year tenure as FBI director ends 10 months after recommending Hillary Clinton not be charged for his email investigation
For the first time since 1993, a U.S. president has fired a director of the FBI. Comey's final year as head of the Bureau before his dismissal Tuesday was wrought with controversy, as Democrats and Republicans alike criticized him for his handling of the FBI's investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails and possible connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. Here's how we got to this point:
Getty Images
Getty Images
