US Judge To Order Release Of Trump Administration Ukraine Documents - Watchdog

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2019) A US Federal judge plans to order the State Department to turn over documents detailing administration contacts with Ukraine, including work done by President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the advocacy group American Oversight said in a press release on Wednesday.

The group based its claim on documents obtained using the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

"Despite the ongoing obstruction of Congress, the Trump administration will now have to start releasing records concerning its dealings with Ukraine," American Oversight Executive Director Austin Evers said in the release.

Federal Judge Christopher Cooper ordered lawyers for the group and the State Department to narrow the scope of documents in the FOIA request to eliminate documents likely to be exempt from release.

The judge said he plans to issue an order for State to produce the resulting documents within 30 days.

With the advent of a formal impeachment inquiry and with the Trump White House's blanket obstruction of all legislative oversight, American Oversight seeks records from multiple US federal agencies that could shed light both on Giuliani's contacts with the Ukrainian government and on the president's potential freezing of congressionally approved military aid, the press release said.

The US president's actions, if true, could constitute a dangerous violation of criminal law, the release added.

"The judge zeroed in on communications with Rudy Giuliani to be most subject to public disclosure. Why? Because he doesn't work for the government," Evers told reporters after the hearing, media reported.

At issue is whether Trump withheld US military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's role in squashing a corruption investigation of an energy company that employed Biden's son, Hunter.