Judicial Watch: Federal Court Hearing Scheduled in Lawsuit Seeking Details of Meeting Between DOJ Lawyers and AP Reporters Regarding Trump Associate Paul Manafort

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today announced that a court hearing will be held before U.S. District Court Carl J. Nichols on Thursday, March 9, 2023, in the Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for records of a meeting set up by then-Chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Fraud Section Andrew Weissmann between the DOJ, FBI and reporters from The Associated Press (AP), in which Weissmann allegedly provided guidance to reporters investigating Paul Manafort, and which may have led to the raid of Manafort’s storage locker (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:19-cv-00879)).

The hearing will be held:

Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023

Time: 1 pm ET

Location: E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse

333 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20001

Judicial Watch has explained to the court that the search for attorney Shreve Ariail’s records remains at issue. At the time Ariail was assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. He subsequently became deputy general counsel for litigation and investigations at the CIA, and is now in private practice. Ariail was among the three U.S. attorneys who attended and emailed about the meeting with at least one AP reporter and Andrew Weissmann. (Weissmann was hired to work on Robert Mueller’s special counsel operation against President Trump. Weissman then reportedly spearheaded the subsequent investigation and prosecution of Manafort.) The DOJ refused to search Ariail’s records until it was ordered to do so by the court in March 2022. During this process, new information has come to light that casts doubt on the DOJ’s obligation to retain Ariail’s records during Judicial Watch’s pending lawsuit.

Judicial Watch contends that the DOJ’s response about its retention of Ariail’s records raises critical questions about potential deletion of records that require the court’s immediate attention.

In October 2019, Judicial Watch made public two productions of documents from the FBI – 28 pages and 38 pages – about an April 11, 2017, “off-the-record” meeting set up by then-Chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Fraud Section Andrew Weissmann, between the DOJ, the FBI and The Associated Press in which AP reporters reportedly provided information on Manafort, including the numeric code to Manafort’s storage locker.

https://truthsocial.com/@JudicialWatch/posts/109937661001015682

https://www.judicialwatch.org/doj-lawyers-ap-reporters-meeting/

NASA Administrator Selects New Head of Science

Feb 27, 2023

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Monday Dr. Nicola Fox will serve as the associate administrator for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, effective immediately.

“As the director of our Heliophysics Division, Nicky was instrumental in expanding the impacts and awareness of NASA’s solar exploration missions and I look forward to working with her as she brings her talents, expertise, and passion to her new role,” Nelson said. “We’re all grateful for the interim leadership of Sandra Connelly, who has done an incredible job keeping the mission moving forward over the last couple months.”

As NASA’s head of Science, Fox’s portfolio includes more than 100 NASA missions to explore the secrets of the universe – missions that assess questions as far ranging as how hurricanes form on Earth, how we can support astronauts on the Moon, and whether we are alone in the universe. She also will be responsible for fostering an inclusive, welcoming atmosphere and supporting a diverse team of scientists and engineers around the country at all stages of their careers.

Fox began her NASA career in 2018 leading the Heliophysics Division, overseeing the agency’s efforts to study the Sun and how its constant solar wind affects Earth and other planets. Prior to that, she worked at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where she was the chief scientist for heliophysics and the project scientist for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.

Throughout her career, Fox has authored numerous scientific articles and papers, in addition to delivering science presentations worldwide. In 2021, she was awarded the American Astronautical Society’s Carl Sagan Memorial Award for her demonstrated leadership in the field of heliophysics with extensive project, program, and supervisory experience. She also is a recipient of NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal, awarded in 2020.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-administrator-selects-new-head-of-science