Lawsuits

CREW v. Department of Justice

Lawsuits, CREW v. Department of Justice (Magliocchetti)

On February 14, 2011, CREW filed a complaint against the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) concerning DOJ’s investigation and prosecution of Paul J. Magliocchetti, the founder and owner of PMA Group, Inc., for false statements, making illegal conduit campaign contributions, making illegal corporate campaign contributions, and other charges. Mr. Magliocchetti pled guilty to most of the charges against him, and the government made public the plea agreement he entered with DOJ and issued press releases announcing both the prosecution and the plea agreement. Nevertheless, in response to CREW’s FOIA request for documents related to the investigation and prosecution, DOJ’s Criminal Division withheld all documents under Exemption 7(A), which protects records compiled for law enforcement purposes that reasonably could be expected to interfere with ongoing enforcement proceedings. Separately, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys also withheld all responsive documents, claiming their release would violate the Privacy Act.