DOJ, FBI sued on eve of Jan. 6 to 'shed light' on top officials' emails and texts about Trump pardons, 'abuse' of power

Source: Law & Crime

Jan 6th, 2026, 1:31 pm


On the eve of the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, a watchdog group known for filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits brought a new case against U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's DOJ and Director Kash Patel's FBI in search of top officials' communications records about President Donald Trump's blanket pardons for his supporters and the "abuse of government power."

American Oversight, a left-leaning nonprofit, filed the case on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking emails and texts that could "shed light" on "senior officials'" communications behind the scenes about Jan. 6, "efforts to undermine certification of the 2020 election," and "attempts to erase consequences, including through pardons, for those involved."

Those messages, the suit said, "are critical to understanding how the federal government has investigated — and attempted to revise and whitewash — one of the gravest assaults on American democracy in the nation's history."

"In furtherance of its mission to promote government transparency and accountability, American Oversight filed requests with FBI and DOJ under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking these officials' text messages and emails regarding January 6, the Capitol attack, efforts to undermine certification of the 2020 election, clemency for the rioters, and abuse of government power to seek retribution against Trump's perceived political enemies," the complaint said.

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/attempted-to-revise-and-whitewash-doj-fbi-sued-on-eve-of-jan-6-to-shed-light-on-top-officials-emails-and-texts-about-trump-pardons-abuse-of-power/