WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are seeking full transparency on what steps Attorney General Garland has taken, or failed to take, to declassify records relating to Crossfire Hurricane for public dissemination. In their letter to Attorney General Garland, the senators are requesting an immediate update on the status of these records and their readiness for public disclosure.

Following a January 2021 order from then-President Trump to declassify records related to the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation, the Justice Department has made no apparent progress toward transparency and has rebuffed numerous inquiries from members of Congress on the matter.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

October 13, 2021

The Honorable Merrick Garland

Attorney General

Department of Justice

Dear Attorney General Garland:

On January 19, 2021, then-President Trump issued a memorandum to the Attorney General, Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency directing them to declassify certain Crossfire Hurricane records for public dissemination.[  On February 25, 2021, our respective staffs requested an update from the Justice Department with respect to when a full and complete set of declassified records would be provided to Congress.

Since then, our respective staffs have had countless emails and phone calls requesting updates on your office’s efforts to follow through on President Trump’s declassification directive, to which your office has consistently failed to provide any substantive update.  Indeed, to-date, the Justice Department has not produced a single declassified record to Congress and the American people.  Unfortunately, this specific example of the Biden Justice Department’s failure to produce responsive material is consistent with its pattern and practice under your leadership.

As we have noted to you, the declassification of these records is not just a matter responsive to ongoing congressional oversight; it is a matter of posterity.  Crossfire Hurricane has been the subject of many public reports, letters, hearings and document productions.  Accordingly, this cannot be overstated – the public has a right to possess these records.

We request an immediate update on what steps, if any, you have taken to declassify Crossfire Hurricane records and when they will be produced to Congress.  If you have failed to take any steps, please explain why that is the case.

Sincerely,

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