A federal judge in the Central District of California on Wednesday accused the Justice Department of lying to him about information they had about a group of Muslim activists.
However, federal officials said they had to deceive the judge for national security reasons.
The DOJ initially informed U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney that its search for the information requested by six Muslim groups and five individuals through a Freedom of Information Act filing yielded few documents and little information that was within the scope of the FOIA request.
Carney told the DOJ to conduct another search for documents. The DOJ submitted additional documents to the judge. He discovered that there were many documents that were responsive to the FOIA request and almost all of the information was within the scope of the request.
Carney wrote in an 18-page order that the DOJ’s representations are “blatantly false.” But, despite his sharply worded order, Carney ruled that the DOJ does not have to disclose the information requested by the Muslim activists, citing national security concerns.
“The Court is charged with the humbling task of defending the Constitution and ensuring that the Government does not falsely accuse people, needlessly invade their privacy or wrongfully deprive them of their liberty,” Carney wrote. “The Court simply cannot perform this important task if the Government lies to it. Deception perverts justice. Truth always promotes it.”
A DOJ spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Main Justice.
But responding to the DOJ excuse, Carney said any deception of the court is unacceptable.
“The Government has no legitimate basis for deceiving the Court,” Carney wrote. “The Court is well equipped to deal with sensitive and classified information. Federal courts routinely seal warrants and supporting affidavits in order to avoid compromising ongoing investigations.”
The Muslim activists who filed the suit requesting the information include the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, Council on American Islamic Relations – California, Islamic Center of San Gabriel Valley, Islamic Center of Hawthorne, West Coast Islamic Center, Human Assistance and Development International Inc., Muzzammil Siddiqi, Shakeel Syed, Hussam Ayloush, Mohammed Abdul Aleem and Rafe Husain.
The FBI has come under fire from Muslim Americans for its handling of cases involving U.S. citizens. The American Civil Liberties Union and CAIR In February filed suit against the FBI alleging the bureau improperly targeted Muslims for surveillance.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told House members in March that the bureau has a “very good relationship” with Muslim Americans. But he said FBI actions in terrorism investigations can often be misunderstood because the classified nature of some investigations makes it challenging to give details about them.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez of the Civil Rights Division in March told members of a Senate panel that the DOJ is trying to ensure that Muslim Americans are protected from abuse and prejudice because of their religion. Perez listed several cases in which the DOJ has sought to defend the rights of Muslims to practice their religion freely and not endure discrimination.
UPDATE
DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler expressed concern with the judge’s accusations, noting that the government disclosed all the documents to Carney.
“We strongly disagree with the characterization that the Court was misled,” Schmaler said in a statement to Main Justice. “I can’t comment on the details of this litigation beyond our filings without revealing sensitive national security and law enforcement information that the courts have ruled should be protected. The law is clear that releasing, or in some instances even acknowledging the existence of, certain types of highly sensitive documents — including those pertaining to international terrorism and national security – could compromise law enforcement interests.”
