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Law360 (June 16, 2020, 2:57 PM EDT) -- Treasury violated public information laws by declining ABC News' request for records on the agency's decision to print President Donald Trump's name on coronavirus relief payments sent by mail to many Americans, the broadcasting company told a D.C. federal court.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury refused to provide ABC News reporter Benjamin Gittleson with records regarding the decision to print Trump's name on coronavirus stimulus checks, in violation of the Freedom of Information Act,
the American Broadcasting Companies said in its Monday complaint. Treasury also failed to specify why the request couldn't be honored, ABC said. Treasury "has not released any records or portions thereof in response to the request" and "has not cited any exemptions to withhold records or portions thereof that are responsive to the request," ABC said in the complaint.
The payments were authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act
, the $2.3 trillion legislation Trump signed in March to help families and businesses endure the economic downturn caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.The legislation directed the Internal Revenue Service to send $1,200 to individual taxpayers and $2,400 to couples filing joint tax returns. Later, the decision was made to print Trump's name on the checks.
While some critics alleged that the decision to put Trump's name on the paper checks could jeopardize their timely delivery, Treasury said in April that the payments were distributed without delay.
ABC News filed the FOIA request in April, seeking emails, meeting notes and other records related to the decision to include Trump's name on the checks. The company also asked for an expedited response and a fee waiver, indicating that the records were of great importance to the American public to "understand the dissemination of these important payments." Those requests went unacknowledged, according to the complaint.
The company was later told in a letter from Treasury that the FOIA request wouldn't be honored, and a Treasury official said the request couldn't be narrowed further in an effort to obtain records, according to the complaint. Since Gittleson spoke with a Treasury official May 7, there has been no further communication between the two parties on the FOIA request, according to the complaint.
The company asked the court to determine that Treasury's refusal of the request violated the law and ABC News should be entitled to at least some of the records it seeks that aren't protected by disclosure exemptions.
Legal representatives for the company and Treasury didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
ABC News is represented by Katie Townsend and Adam A. Marshall of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Counsel information for Treasury wasn't immediately available.
The case is American Broadcasting Companies Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, case number 1:20-cv-01568, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
--Editing by Neil Cohen.
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