Legal Filings

Legal Filings
Jul 19, 2011

CREW Files FOIA Requests Regarding DOJ’s Investigation of Christine O’Donnell

Christine O'DonnellToday, CREW filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seeking records related to DOJ’s recently completed investigation of Christine O’Donnell, the 2010 Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware. 

Over the past several months, DOJ, with the assistance of the FBI, investigated whether Ms. O’Donnell illegally converted campaign funds to personal use and made false statements on forms filed with the Federal Election Commission.  According to a signed affidavit by Ms. O’Donnell’s former campaign manager, Ms. O’Donnell used campaign funds to pay rent, gas, meals, and a bowling outing.  The United States Attorney notified Ms. O’Donnell on July 15, 2011, it had closed its investigation and did not intend to pursue criminal charges against her at this time.  The requested records will shed light on the conduct of DOJ and the FBI in conducting the investigation of Ms. O’Donnell, DOJ’s decision to close the investigation without bringing charges against her, and Ms. O’Donnell’s conduct.

CREW previously filed FOIA requests for records of closed DOJ investigations of Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), and Reps. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Don Young (R-AK), John Murtha (D-PA), and Alan Mollohan (D-WV).  To date, neither DOJ nor the FBI has produced any records in response to these requests.

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