CREW FILES RESPONSE TO PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

7 Oct 2008 // Today, as ordered by the D.C. Circuit, CREW filed plaintiffs' opposition to the petition for a writ of mandamus filed by the vice president, the Office of the Vice President and the EOP in CREW, et al. v. Cheney, et al.

The White House defendants have asked the appellate court to issue the extraordinary remedy of a writ of mandamus compelling the district court to vacate its discovery order authorizing CREW to take the depositions of David Addington and NARA official Nancy Smith. CREW pointed out in its opposition that the challenged discovery raises no constitutional concerns and was necessitated by the factual deficiencies and ambiguities in the defendants' own factual submissions. Having asked the district court to decide the merits of this case based on their factual submissions, defendants now have no right to complain about discovery that is necessary to resolve questions raised by their own evidence.