(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that a federal court unsealed the key search warrant records behind the Biden FBI’s September 2022 seizure of Mike Lindell’s cell phone (In the Matter of the Search of a Person Located in the District of Minnesota (No. 22-mj-742 (TNL))). The records, unsealed at the request of Judicial Watch and Mike Lindell, show that the Biden FBI used private litigant Dominion Voting Systems’ then-pending $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Mike Lindell and others (a lawsuit that had been settled as to Lindell earlier this year) as well as other information from Dominion as part of its justification for seeking the warrant.

On September 7, 2022, the FBI obtained a warrant from U.S. Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung to search “the person of Michael Lindell,” seize his phone, and use his fingerprints or face to unlock it. The FBI already had nearly two years of Lindell’s phone and Apple account records. The FBI obtained warrants to track Lindell through his phone’s location a week before the warrant for the phone seizure was issued.

According to Lindell, as he was returning from a hunting trip in Iowa on September 13, 2022, four plainclothes FBI agents in three unmarked vehicles surrounded him at a Hardee’s drive-through lane in Mankato, Minnesota. The unmarked vehicles had followed Lindell all the way from Iowa. They took his phone and questioned him about Dominion voting machines.

The unredacted portion of the 80-page affidavit shows how central Dominion was to the government’s case. The FBI told the court:

Lindell has a personal financial motive to find evidence undermining the integrity of Dominion machines, as he is facing substantial litigation from Dominion based on Lindell’s disparaging statements about the machines.

The unsealed affidavit also:

• listed interviews with, and records from, Dominion witnesses among its principal sources;
• relied on “Dominion officials” for the claim that copies of Mesa County, Colorado’s election system contained “proprietary Dominion data and software;”
• devoted a section to Lindell’s public statements “Linking His Ongoing Litigation Against Dominion to the Mesa County Incident;” and
• authorized agents to seize everything on Lindell’s phone relating to “any Dominion computerized voting system.”

The affidavit further alleged that the phone held evidence of identity theft, damage to a protected computer, and conspiracy. The allegations were tied to the May 2021 copying of Mesa County’s Dominion election system, and the affidavit relied mainly on Lindell’s phone contacts with, and payments to, a redacted individual. Despite the affidavit’s claim that there was probable cause to believe a crime was committed, the FBI never charged Lindell or anyone else.

The newly unsealed records also show that, as recently as March 2026, the Justice Department sought to keep evidence of the FBI’s coordination with Dominion secret by requesting another one-year extension of the seal, arguing that disclosure would “prejudice the government’s ongoing investigation.” On July 30, 2026, lawyers for Judicial Watch and Lindell told the Justice Department that they would move to intervene and unseal. The Justice Department responded that it “would move on its own to unseal those materials,” and it did so on August 17 after redacting certain sections of the documents. The affidavit and application were placed on the public docket on August 28.

Judicial Watch and Lindell then identified nine additional sealed docket entries and filed a consent motion to unseal them. The motion noted that “America has a long history of distrust of secret proceedings.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon T. Huseby granted the motion on September 14, 2026, and the remaining records, including the sealing petitions, were subsequently made public.

“It is a travesty that the prior administration relied on information provided by a private litigant in existing litigation to obtain a warrant to seize the telephone of an opposing litigant,” said Mike Lindell.

“These unsealed court documents show Mike Lindell is a victim of Biden FBI lawfare and abuse,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Dominion Voting Systems was suing Mike Lindell for $1.3 billion, and the Biden FBI chose to rely on this private lawsuit as a reason for armed federal agents to seize his phone at a fast-food drive-through. All of this, and Lindell was never charged with anything. Thanks to Judicial Watch, Americans can now see how the Biden FBI weaponized federal law enforcement against a prominent critic of the 2020 election.”

The unsealing is part of Judicial Watch’s investigation into whether federal law enforcement agencies abused their powers to target allies of a political opponent. Judicial Watch is also suing the Justice Department for records about its investigations of Lindell (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 25-cv-03850)). It has also moved to unseal warrant materials targeting Rudy Giuliani, Victoria Toensing, and Michael Caputo.

Barbara Podlucky Berens of Berens & Miller, P.A., in Minneapolis, together with Michael Bekesha and Sean O’Donnell of Judicial Watch, represent Judicial Watch and Lindell in this matter.

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The post Judicial Watch Victory: Federal Court Unseals Secret FBI Warrant Records Targeting Mike Lindell appeared first on Judicial Watch.

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced that a federal judge ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), beginning this week, to provide answers on a search for records on the CIA presence at the US Capitol on January 6. The order was issued immediately after a DATE joint status hearing held at the request of Judicial Watch in its August 2024 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit (Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency (No. 1:24-cv-02172)).

Judicial Watch requested the Court order the CIA to provide more information on the status of its FOIA response after zero progress for over two years. The Court ordered the CIA provide details on potential productions of records and its search process:

Defendant has represented to the Court that it anticipates completing its search for and review of responsive records within eight months. It is ORDERED that Defendant shall file a notice by October 2, 2026, including a date certain when Defendant will begin rolling interim productions of responsive records. The Parties are further ORDERED to file another joint status report by December 1, 2026. In that report, Defendant is directed to describe its search process, the volume of materials located, the progress of its responsiveness review, and any interim productions made. The report should also apprise the Court of the results of any conferral regarding the scope of requests. It is further ORDERED that Defendant shall provide Plaintiff with any draft status reports at least one business day in advance of the filing deadline.

Judicial Watch sued for records related to any shots fired inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and records of requests for CIA support, including bomb technicians and bomb-detecting dogs placed on standby or used in response to the massive protests in and around Washington, DC.

In March 2024, Judicial Watch received 88 pages of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) records from the Department of Justice in a FOIA lawsuit that show the CIA deployed personnel to Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.

The records include a series of text messages under the heading “January 7 Intel Chain” in which two separate references to participation by the CIA are made. One states that “two CIA bomb techs” are assisting with “a pipe bomb scene on New Jersey and D ST SE.” Another record references “several CIA dog teams on standby.”

In a Joint Status Report filed with the court on September 2, 2026, Judicial Watch argues:

More than two years after this lawsuit was filed, the agency states that it is still not finished with its search. Notably the agency does not claim that this is because the request was overbroad or otherwise unmanageable. It simply has not finished the search after more than two years.

***

Accordingly, pursuant to the Court’s June 15, 2026 Minute Order, Plaintiff proposes that the agency be ordered to provide a detailed description of the status of its efforts, including but not limited to descriptions of the searches conducted and remaining to be conducted, and a date certain when the searches will be complete. The agency also should be ordered to disclose the number of records located and reviewed, the rate at which the records are being reviewed, and a date certain when the review will be complete. Finally, the agency should be ordered to provide a date certain when interim productions will begin. Alternatively, Plaintiff requests an in-person status conference to further address these matters.

“We’re pleased a federal court agrees with Judicial Watch that the CIA should give the American people more information about its handling of a simple FOIA request about it was doing at the US Capitol on January 6,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.

Judicial Watch has pursued details of January 6 on several fronts.

In July 2026, it forced the release of over 1,000 hours of Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department body-worn camera footage from the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol event.

In April 2026, Judicial Watch filed a (FOIA) lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain records related to possible improper targeting of January 6, 2021, Capitol protesters, their supporters, and related nonprofits.

In July 2025, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Justice for records on accelerated January 6 prosecutions after Donald Trump was elected president in November 2024.

In June 2025, Judicial Watch concluded a $4.975 million settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government filed on behalf of the family of Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021. Ashli Babbitt was the only January 6 homicide victim.

In October 2023, Judicial Watch received the declaration of James W. Joyce, senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the Capitol Police, in which he describes emails among senior officials of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) in January 2021 that show warnings of possible January 6 protests that could lead to serious disruptions at the U.S. Capitol.

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The post Federal Judge Orders CIA to Provide Judicial Watch with Answers on January 6 Records appeared first on Judicial Watch.

Assaults against federal agents tasked with arresting alien criminals throughout the United States have increased a stunning 1,649% thanks in part to leftist elected officials who promote open borders and offer illegal immigrants—even those convicted of serious felonies—sanctuary. The men and women arresting the “Worst of the Worst” foreign offenders work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) premier law enforcement agency charged with safeguarding the nation by, among other things, enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety. Under the Trump administration they have rounded up thousands of pedophiles, rapists, murderers, violent gang members, terrorists, drunk drivers and other outlaws in the country illegally.

As the ICE agents work to perform their duty of apprehending criminal aliens, they have suffered an onslaught of assaults from radical leftists most likely inspired by politicians who promote the criminal behavior. From January 20, 2025, to September 20, 2026, DHS reports 647 assaults against ICE compared to just 37 under the Biden administration from January 20, 2021, to September 20, 2022, marking a 1,649% increase. “The brave men and women of ICE, who are simply enforcing the laws mandated by Congress and protecting the American people, are under attack every single day,” according to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He blames it on vicious lies spread by “sanctuary politicians” and the foot soldiers involved in anti-ICE violence. “DHS is calling on these sanctuary politicians to stop attacking federal law enforcement, stop putting the needs of illegal aliens ahead of the safety of American citizens, and to start working with us to make America safe again,” Mullin said.

The DHS secretary offers more than a dozen examples of hateful rhetoric by sanctuary politicians against federal agents doing their job. Among them is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate in her failed 2024 presidential bid, comparing ICE to a “modern day Gestapo.” California Governor Gavin Newsom released guides and sanctuary laws advising illegal immigrants how to recognize ICE, block entry and defy arrest. Austin, Texas City Councilwoman Krista Laine falsely claimed that ICE is “terrorizing our cities and threatening the safety of our residents.” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu compared ICE agents to a Neo-Nazi group. Vermont Congresswoman Becca Balint compared ICE law enforcement officers to “vigilantes” engaging in “kidnapping.” Texas Congresswomen Jasmine Crocket, a black civil rights attorney, compared ICE to “slave patrols…disappearing people based on their skin color.” Washington State Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal called ICE agents “deranged” and says it is “inspiring” to obstruct immigration enforcement. Others, including members of Congress and governors, have publicly called for ICE to be abolished.

The “hateful and violent rhetoric” is behind the huge increase in assaults against ICE agents, DHS assures. The agency reveals some of the worst violence against federal agents fueled by public officials since the Trump administration started cracking down on alien criminals. An ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent in Minneapolis had one of his fingers bitten off after being attacked by three rioters. An illegal alien pedophile hammered another agent in the face with a metal coffee cup in Houston, causing a lip laceration that required 13 stiches. An ICE officer in Louisiana was viciously bitten by an illegal alien resisting arrest. Another agent in Washington D.C. endured menacing taunts and harassment from a street crowd while an illegal immigrant violently resisted arrest, slamming the agent the ground and causing a concussion. A group of violent individuals opened fire on ICE officers at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, with one officer shot in the attack. An illegal immigrant from Mexico residing in Dallas posted a Spanish message on a social media platform soliciting the murder of ICE. Rioters in Los Angeles threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at ICE and Border Patrol officers as their mayor, Karen Bass, issued multilingual flyers and online resources advising illegal aliens on how to evade arrest. The list is extensive and the agency includes photos of the victims and perpetrators.

The post “Hateful and Violent Rhetoric” of Sanctuary Politicians Fuels 1,649% Hike in ICE Agent Assaults appeared first on Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch Sues ODNI for Documents Exposing 2020 Election Corruption
Judge Orders Hearing in Lawsuit Against the CIA for January 6 Records
Taxpayer-Funded Health Care Hit With $17.5 Billion in Fraud in One Year

Judicial Watch Sues ODNI for Documents Exposing 2020 Election Corruption

Trump administration agencies are withholding documents that were left haphazardly by the Biden administration. They may well expose that administration’s corruption.

We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) for Biden-era documents discovered by former Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard after she took office, which she said contain information regarding corruption of the 2020 election (Judicial Watch Inc. v. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (Case 1:26-cv-03277)).

We sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the ODNI failed to respond to a July 31, 2026, FOIA request “for records concerning the discovery, location, contents, and handling of the materials referenced by Director Gabbard, as well as communications about their discovery and records about any inquiry into why the materials were designated for destruction.”

On August 26, 2025, Gabbard confirmed to President Trump during a cabinet meeting that ODNI had identified burn bags containing information regarding corruption in the 2020 presidential election. “We are finding documents literally tucked away in the back of safes in random offices, in these bags and in other areas—which, again, speaks to the intent of those who are trying to hide the truth from the American people.” She added that the documents revealed the politicization of intelligence and caused immeasurable harm to the American people.

We say in our suit:

As of the date of this Complaint, ODNI has failed to: (i) determine whether to comply with the request; (ii) notify Plaintiff of any such determination or the reasons therefor; (iii) advise Plaintiff of the right to appeal any adverse determination; or (iv) produce the requested records or otherwise demonstrate that the requested records are exempt from production.

There is no legitimate reason to continue sitting on these documents that will likely add further evidence of the corruption at the top of the Biden administration.

We have another similar suit pending.

In August, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to provide answers about nearly 2 million pages of FBI records discovered in a “hidden room” at FBI headquarters, including whether the records have already been reviewed in response to other Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and whether the newly uncovered records had been stored in other government record systems.

In July, the FBI told a federal court that, at a rate of 500 pages a month, processing records from the “hidden room” at FBI Headquarters would take approximately 158 years. The room — now dubbed the “burn bag room” —  holds over 2 million pages of records, according to the FBI’s own filing. Then-Deputy Director Bongino said in May 2025 that some of the records were found stashed “in bags.”

In February, we filed the FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice concerning the discovery and contents of “burn bags” found in a secured Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington, DC.

Judge Orders Hearing in Lawsuit Against the CIA for January 6 Records

We appeared this week before a federal judge in Washington, DC. who ordered a status conference in our lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for all records related to events on January 6, 2021, in the U.S. Capitol. The status conference was held Thursday, September 24.

U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb ordered the hearing at our request in our August 2024 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for all records related to any shots fired inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and records of requests for CIA support including bomb technicians and bomb-detecting dogs placed on standby or used in response to the massive protests in and around Washington, DC (Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency (No. 1:24-cv-02172)).

In March 2024, we received 88 pages of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) records from the Department of Justice in a FOIA lawsuit that show the CIA deployed personnel to Washington DC on January 6, 2021.

The records include a series of text messages under the heading “January 7 Intel Chain” in which two separate references to participation by the CIA are made. One states that “two CIA bomb techs” are assisting with “a pipe bomb scene on New Jersey and D ST SE.” Another record references “several CIA dog teams on standby.”

In a Joint Status Report filed with the court on September 2, 2026, we argue:

More than two years after this lawsuit was filed, the agency states that it is still not finished with its search. Notably the agency does not claim that this is because the request was overbroad or otherwise unmanageable. It simply has not finished the search after more than two years.

***

Accordingly, pursuant to the Court’s June 15, 2026 Minute Order, Plaintiff proposes that the agency be ordered to provide a detailed description of the status of its efforts, including but not limited to descriptions of the searches conducted and remaining to be conducted, and a date certain when the searches will be complete. The agency also should be ordered to disclose the number of records located and reviewed, the rate at which the records are being reviewed, and a date certain when the review will be complete. Finally, the agency should be ordered to provide a date certain when interim productions will begin. Alternatively, Plaintiff requests an in-person status conference to further address these matters.

The CIA has demonstrated absolute contempt for the people’s right to know what it was up to at the US Capitol on January 6. Why is the CIA stonewalling the release of any documents about this important issue for over half-a-decade?

We have pursued details of January 6 on several fronts.

In July 2026, we forced the release of over 1,000 hours of Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department body-worn camera footage from the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol event.

In April 2026, we filed a (FOIA) lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain records related to possible improper targeting of January 6, 2021, Capitol protesters, their supporters, and related nonprofits.

In July 2025, we sued the U.S. Department of Justice for records on accelerated January 6 prosecutions after Donald Trump was elected president in November 2024.

In October 2023, we received the declaration of James W. Joyce, senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the Capitol Police, in which he describes emails among senior officials of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) in January 2021 that show warnings of possible January 6 protests that could lead to serious disruptions at the U.S. Capitol.

In June 2025, we concluded a $4.975 million settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government filed on behalf of the family of Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021. Ashli Babbitt was the only January 6 homicide victim.

Taxpayer-Funded Health Care Hit With $17.5 Billion in Fraud in One Year

Our U.S. Treasury has been an open spigot for all manner of fraudsters, and nowhere is this more visible than in our healthcare programs. Our Corruption Chronicles blog reports.

Fraud in taxpayer-funded health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid is so pervasive that the government identified a breathtaking $17.5 billion in scams in just one year, according to an analysis conducted by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the agency bureau charged with safeguarding the nation’s financial system form illicit activity, money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The crimes occurred in all 50 states, as well as Washington D.C, and U.S. territories including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A lengthy report made public this month identifies the largest number of offenders in California (3,141), followed by Florida (1,378), New York (989) and Minnesota (946) with some of the scams involving criminal networks connected to foreign entities.

“Health care fraud imposes enormous costs on U.S. taxpayers, increases the overall cost of health care in the United States, and puts patients at risk,” the FinCEN report states, identifying the offense as the act of knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any health care benefit program or obtain by false or fraudulent means money or property of any health care benefits program. It frequently involves Medicare, the country’s health insurance program for those 65 and over, and Medicaid, which provides health care for low-income populations. Common schemes include filing false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement, double billing, phantom billing and upcoding. Others include fraudulently inducing patient referrals, the use of items and services with kickbacks and bribes, stealing patients’ health insurance identifiers, diverting legal prescriptions for illegal uses and impersonating health care professionals. The criminals make a lot of money considering Medicare and Medicaid spend about $1.9 trillion annually, according to government figures cited in the report.

The audit examines cases between March 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026, using reports filed by financial institutions under a law called Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to help detect and prevent money laundering in the U.S. Home health care business were the most frequently identified suspected fraudsters in BSA reports, followed by hospice care companies, mental and behavioral health and addiction treatment providers and medical equipment businesses. In many cases the public funds were illegally used for luxury purchases, travel, real estate, construction or unrelated private investments and some of the money was transferred internationally. “Suspected perpetrators employed a range of apparent money laundering techniques—from simple funds transfers to complex layering processes—before spending the obtained health care payments,” FinCEN’s probe found. “In many cases, proceeds of suspected health care fraud that did not appear to go through a complex funds transfer process were used on personal expenses and luxury goods.”

In one case more than $25 million in Medicaid payments filled the coffers of a fake Alaska “dentist’s office” with multiple owners who were not involved in dentistry and the payments were used for cash withdrawals, personal expenses and payments to the owners’ other businesses. In another, $20 million from Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC), state health agencies and a pharmacy organization went to a New York City based pharmacy that later sent payments to numerous wholesale companies in Hong Kong. The government also paid approximately $2 million for home health care, hospice, medical transportation and pharmaceuticals to multiple California-based individuals, including one linked to organized crime, that sent the funds to shell companies and a real estate firm. A Minnesota adult daycare registered at a shuttered store front received $870,000 from a state agency and insurance companies that administer state health plans, and the money was transferred internationally to personal accounts and a shell company. A Kentucky health care professional with a previously suspended operating license received over $400,000 using the same claim number for multiple claimants and transferred the money to personal investment accounts. A Pennsylvania hospice business got more than $330,000 that was used to pay the owner’s credit cards and other personal expenses. The list goes on and on.

Until next week,

The post Judicial Watch Sues ODNI Over 2020 Election Corruption appeared first on Judicial Watch.

“ … those who are trying to hide the truth from the American people.” ~ Tulsi Gabbard

Judicial Watch sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the ODNI failed to respond to a July 31, 2026, FOIA request “for records concerning the discovery, location, contents, and handling of the materials referenced by Director Gabbard, as well as communications about their discovery and records about any inquiry into why the materials were designated for destruction.”

On August 26, 2025, Gabbard confirmed to President Trump during a cabinet meeting that ODNI had identified burn bags containing information regarding corruption in the 2020 presidential election. “We are finding documents literally tucked away in the back of safes in random offices, in these bags and in other areas—which, again, speaks to the intent of those who are trying to hide the truth from the American people.” She added that the documents revealed the politicization of intelligence and caused immeasurable harm to the American people.

Judicial Watch said in its suit:

As of the date of this Complaint, ODNI has failed to: (i) determine whether to comply with the request; (ii) notify Plaintiff of any such determination or the reasons therefor; (iii) advise Plaintiff of the right to appeal any adverse determination; or (iv) produce the requested records or otherwise demonstrate that the requested records are exempt from production.

“There is no legitimate reason to continue sitting on these documents that will likely add further evidence of the corruption at the top of the Biden administration,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.

Judicial Watch has another similar suit pending.

In August, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to provide answers about nearly 2 million pages of FBI records discovered in a “hidden room” at FBI headquarters, including whether the records have already been reviewed in response to other Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and whether the newly uncovered records had been stored in other government record systems.

In July, the FBI told a federal court that, at a rate of 500 pages a month, processing records from the “hidden room” at FBI Headquarters would take approximately 158 years. The room — now dubbed the “burn bag room” —  holds over 2 million pages of records, according to the FBI’s own filing. Then-Deputy Director Bongino said in May 2025 that some of the records were found stashed “in bags.”

In February, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice concerning the discovery and contents of “burn bags” found in a secured Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington, DC.

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The post Judicial Watch Sues Director of National Intelligence for Biden Era Documents Exposing 2020 Election... appeared first on Judicial Watch.

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that a federal judge in Washington, DC has ordered a status conference in its lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for all records related to events on January 6, 2021, in the U.S. Capitol. The status conference is set for today, September 24.

U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb ordered the hearing at the request of Judicial Watch in its August 2024 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for all records related to any shots fired inside the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and records of requests for CIA support including bomb technicians and bomb-detecting dogs placed on standby or used in response to the massive protests in and around Washington, DC (Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency (No. 1:24-cv-02172)).

In March, Judicial Watch received 88 pages of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) records from the Department of Justice in a FOIA lawsuit that show the CIA deployed personnel to Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.

The records include a series of text messages under the heading “January 7 Intel Chain” in which two separate references to participation by the CIA are made. One states that “two CIA bomb techs” are assisting with “a pipe bomb scene on New Jersey and D ST SE.” Another record references “several CIA dog teams on standby.”

In a Joint Status Report filed with the court on September 2, 2026, Judicial Watch argues:

More than two years after this lawsuit was filed, the agency states that it is still not finished with its search. Notably the agency does not claim that this is because the request was overbroad or otherwise unmanageable. It simply has not finished the search after more than two years.

***

Accordingly, pursuant to the Court’s June 15, 2026 Minute Order, Plaintiff proposes that the agency be ordered to provide a detailed description of the status of its efforts, including but not limited to descriptions of the searches conducted and remaining to be conducted, and a date certain when the searches will be complete. The agency also should be ordered to disclose the number of records located and reviewed, the rate at which the records are being reviewed, and a date certain when the review will be complete. Finally, the agency should be ordered to provide a date certain when interim productions will begin. Alternatively, Plaintiff requests an in-person status conference to further address these matters.

“The CIA has demonstrated absolute contempt for the people’s right to know what it was up to on at the US Capitol on January 6,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “Why is the CIA stonewalling the release of any documents about this important issue for over half-a-decade!”

Judicial Watch has pursued details of January 6 on several fronts.

In July 2026, it forced the release of over 1,000 hours of Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department body-worn camera footage   from the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol event.

In April 2026, Judicial Watch filed a (FOIA) lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain records related to possible improper targeting of January 6, 2021, Capitol protesters, their supporters, and related nonprofits.

In July 2025, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Justice for records on accelerated January 6 prosecutions after Donald Trump was elected president in November 2024.

In October 2023, Judicial Watch received the declaration of James W. Joyce, senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the Capitol Police, in which he describes emails among senior officials of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) in January 2021 that show warnings of possible January 6 protests that could lead to serious disruptions at the U.S. Capitol.

In June 2025, Judicial Watch concluded a $4.975 million settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government filed on behalf of the family of Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021. Ashli Babbitt was the only January 6 homicide victim.

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The post Judicial Watch: Judge Orders Hearing in Lawsuit Against the CIA for January 6 Records appeared first on Judicial Watch.