Commerce Department trade mission scandal Judicial Watch's main targets have been Democrats, particularly Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration. Also in 2020, the group sued the state of California, claiming a law requiring corporations doing business in the state to have directors from sexual or racial minorities is unconstitutional, asserting "The legislation's requirement that certain corporations appoint a specific number of directors based upon race, ethnicity, sexual preference, and transgender status is immediately suspect and presumptively invalid and triggers strict scrutiny review by the court," Ī 2020 study by researchers from Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern and Rutgers universities found that Judicial Watch was among the top 5 most shared fake news domains in tweets related to COVID-19, the others being The Gateway Pundit, InfoWars, WorldNetDaily and Natural News. In the months prior to the 2020 election, Judicial Watch filed or threatened lawsuits against several states related to alleged inaccuracy of their voter rolls, demanding that nearly two million names be purged. In 2020 Judicial Watch pursued emails related to the Steele Dossier, obtaining copies through a FOIA lawsuit. In March 2021, the United States Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal by Judicial Watch.
#Watch judicial consent full
The full DC Circuit Court unanimously declined to hear an appeal in October, allowing the panel decision to stand. A three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned Lamberth's ruling the following August. In March 2020, federal district court judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Clinton must provide a deposition. Sullivan granted Judicial Watch's motion for discovery into whether the State Department and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deliberately thwarted the Freedom of Information Act by using a private email server to obscure her communications from public records requests. Ī federal judge ruled on February 23, 2016, that top aides to Hillary Clinton could be questioned under oath by Judicial Watch about her use of a private email server as secretary of state. Judicial Watch filed over twenty FOIA lawsuits involving the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails. Cheney was chief executive of Halliburton, he and other directors inflated revenue reports, boosting Halliburton's share price." As reported by the Wall Street Journal the court filing claims the oil-field-services concern overstated revenue by a total of $445 million from 1999 through the end of 2001. The lawsuit, which accused Halliburton of accounting fraud, alleged that "when Mr. Judicial Watch was involved in a similar legal dispute with Vice President Dick Cheney in 2002 when the group filed a shareholder lawsuit against Halliburton. Bush administration for access to minutes of Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force. In July 2003 Judicial Watch joined the environmental organization Sierra Club in suing the George W. This led Clinton administration officials to accuse Judicial Watch of "abusing the judicial system for partisan ends". The organization received considerable financial support from prominent Clinton critics, including $7.74 million from conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife. The WCJ was investigating the death of Clinton deputy White House counsel Vince Foster at the time. The lawsuit alleged a retaliatory audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). An early lawsuit was filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of the Western Center for Journalism (WCJ) in 1998. President Bill Clinton and other figures in the Clinton administration. Judicial Watch came to public attention after filing eighteen lawsuits against the administration of Democratic U.S. According to the Times, "the group has forced the release of government records that would otherwise have been kept from the public." Critics accuse JW of "weaponizing the Freedom of Information Act for political purposes." Clinton Administration
Judicial Watch calls itself a nonpartisan educational foundation as well as a media organization. In October 2016, The New York Times wrote: "Judicial Watch's strategy is simple: Carpet-bomb the federal courts with Freedom of Information Act lawsuits." As of 2016, the organization had nearly fifty employees. Before leaving the organization in 2003, Klayman hired Tom Fitton, who became president of the organization. Judicial Watch was founded in 1994 by attorney and right-wing activist Larry Klayman. 2.16 Accusations against the Clinton Foundation.2.15 Mueller and FBI investigations into Russian interference.2.14 Lawsuits against climate scientists.2.13 False claims about Trump Nazi billboard.2.11 Murder of Seth Rich conspiracy theory.2.10 Collaboration with Steve Bannon and Breitbart News.2.8 False claims about George Zimmerman protests.2.1 Commerce Department trade mission scandal.