A U.S. District Court Judge has ordered the halt of the removal of video and court records related to the events of January 6 from government websites. This decision came after a group of news organizations, including ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, The New York Times Company, and The Washington Post, among others, noticed that online databases were being purged. The news organizations filed court documents in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, alleging that the Trump administration was deleting video and records following an executive order pardoning and dismissing charges for all January 6 rioters.
Judge James Boasberg, appointed by former President Barack Obama, issued a directive on Wednesday for government officials to identify any other videos that have been removed and provide reasons for their removal from U.S. databases. The judge ordered the government to identify all videos and records removed from USA File Exchange, also known as USAfx, and provide explanations by February 26.
The news organizations explained in a Tuesday motion that over the past four years, this Court and other District Judges have repeatedly ordered the government to make riot-related records publicly accessible through an electronic drop box on the government’s USAfx portal. They noted that within the past week, certain video exhibits submitted in connection with the sentencing of at least one Capitol riot defendant have disappeared from that drop box.
The news outlets’ lawyers stated that before the online sweep, the case folder on USAfx for the defendant, Glen Simon, who pleaded guilty to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, contained nine video files. They alleged that the folder is now empty. Government officials were asked via email on February 10 to restore the videos and records, and they responded by saying they would get back to the news outlets and legal teams as soon as possible.
However, the government has not provided any further response, and the Simon video exhibits remain missing from USAfx, according to the motion. The motion argued that the video exhibits are judicial records subject to the public rights of access under the First Amendment and common law, and judges have determined, case by case, that the public is entitled to access each of the video exhibits.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Trump administration had not responded to Judge Boasberg’s request, according to court records. The news organizations’ fight to protect January 6 databases comes as the Trump administration continues to face accusations of attempting to “rewrite” history regarding the 2021 Capitol attack.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a federal watchdog group, wrote an open letter last month to the inspector general of the Department of Justice and the archivist of the United States. They urged them to investigate the DOJ’s removal of its January 6 database, detailing criminal charges and convictions, which they call a likely violation of federal law.