Shutdown stalls efforts to unseal files
The government shutdown is affecting the FBI’s ability to get mail — and answer court filings — in a legal case involving President Donald Trump, Russians and an infamous dossier of supposed dirt on Trump.
The case: Aleksej Gubarev vs. BuzzFeed News.
Two years ago, the Russian internet mogul sued the online news company for defamation after it famously published the so-called Steele dossier, a 35-page report of allegations about the president and Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
BuzzFeed’s original article said that the dossier alleged that Gubarev’s companies “had been using botnets and porn traffic” to spread computer viruses, plant bugs and steal data in a stealth operation against the Democratic Party.
Miami U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro, however, sided with BuzzFeed, saying the article fell under the “fair report privilege” that protects media watchdog efforts.
In the interest of transparency and the public’s right to know, media companies have asked the judge to unseal documents that were submitted as part of the case file. Last month, she ordered the FBI — which is leading the investigation into Russian interference — to submit an affidavit outlining its position on unsealing documents.
But government lawyers said they could not respond because of the shutdown. Trump has refused to accept any appropriations bills to fund the government until Congress sets aside billions for his long-promised border wall.
The partial shutdown of the government has closed immigration court, snarled security lines at airports and left thousands of federal employees without paychecks.
“Department of Justice attorneys and employees are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis except in very limited circumstances, including ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,’ “Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt wrote in a Jan. 10 filing.
The government also said it had not received certified legal documents in the mail and coordination between its own legal team “has been especially difficult
Tlaib said Lima-Taub’s comments are reflective of a national effort led by Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio to penalize businesses that want to boycott Israel, an effort that Tlaib calls anti-free speech.
“It’s very clear that there’s obviously an agenda on the right to make this more than it is,” Tlaib said. “I am supporting Senator [Bernie] Sanders and the ACLU and others that also support the same position I do, which is freedom of speech is extremely important in our country and we need to value it and support it.”
Rubio led legislation that would allow local governments to counter-boycott businesses that boycott Israel.
“I believe by definition BDS is anti-Semitic,” Rubio told The Herald on Tuesday. “I believe anti-Israel policies is a 21st-century version of anti-Semitism disguised as foreign policy and economic warfare. It is in essence an effort to destroy the economy of the Jewish state.”
Rubio, who traded barbs on social media with Tlaib last week, said he did not support Lima-Taub’s comments about Tlaib bombing the Capitol.
“I don’t believe supporting BDS means you support bombing anything,” Rubio said. “I don’t know who this commissioner was or why they said it. I don’t have to agree with that statement to believe that what she [Tlaib] tweeted last week was a phraseology often used in conjunction with anti-Semitism, the notion of dual loyalties and the like.”
Rubio’s bill, the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act, failed when 43 Democrats voted against it. He plans to keep pushing the proposal, arguing that some Democrats didn’t support it because the bill wouldn’t end the ongoing government shutdown.
In Florida, Lima-Taub is in the hot seat for her comments.
Hallandale Commissioner Michele Lazarow called the statement a “black eye for Hallandale Beach,” and demanded an apology. Lazarow, because many of the individuals involved in the decision-making about the FBI affidavit are or have been furloughed.”
Judge Ungaro, however, isn’t cutting the government any slack. She’s given DOJ until Wednesday to file the paperwork.
“Judge Ungaro has a well-deserved reputation for quickly ruling on pending motions usually accompanied by an extensive order,” said Roy Black, BuzzFeed’s lawyer. “She will not delay ruling on a case unless it is a dire emergency. An intergovernmental dispute over paying for a wall doesn’t rise to that standard.”
A request for comment from DOJ was met with an automated response: “Due to the lapse in appropriations, messages ... may not be returned until funding is restored.” like much of the Hallandale Beach community is also Jewish and has her own critiques of Tlaib’s positions on Israel, said that does not justify Lima-Taub’s comments.
“Though I have major issues with some of Congresswoman Tlaib’s political views, those issues are resolved through elections and debate, not by promoting a racist stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists,” Lazarow wrote in a statement.
Emerge Florida, an organization dedicated to training female Democratic politicians, also condemns Lima-Taub’s comments.
“That level of racism and bigotry has no place in Florida Politics,” Emerge Florida State Director Vetnah Monessar wrote. “Muslims are part of the fabric of this country. We demand that Commissioner Taub apologize to her constituents and the general public.”
On Tuesday, CAIR-Florida put out a statement strongly condemning LimaTaub’s Facebook post, and calling for her immediate resignation.
“Holding a public office comes with great responsibilities. Xenophobic stereotypes must not be embraced by any elected official,” said the statement published by CAIR-Florida. “Her un-American, xenophobic statements establish that she is unfit to hold the Commissioner’s seat.”
The Facebook post and petition were removed from Lima-Taub’s Facebook after reporters began asking questions, according to the Sun Sentinel. However, other posts remain public in which the Hallandale Commissioner calls Tlaib a “worthless woman” and “abhorrent” politician.
This is not the first — or even the second — time Lima-Taub has courted controversy. Last year, the commissioner made headlines by comparing then-Mayor Keith London to Adolf Hitler and Fidel Castro. She then defended the comments and never apologized. (A few months earlier, London had bizarrely accused Lima-Taub of profiting from bleaching her anus.)