However, the bill does allow Bondi to redact records in specific instances, including documents that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution.”
There it is…
We knew it. We’re not stupid (some of us). We’ll see how it plays out I guess. No surprise here. They know we know, and how obviously transparent this is.
I think our only hope is if enough MAGA drop their support, which is a lot to fucking hope for.
Ok I agree it is very suspicious that Congress suddenly got their shit together for this one thing. But people keep doomposting this bill without actually reading it. And it deserves to be read in all the beautiful airtight glory that it is.
Massie and Khanna anticipated every single excuse DOJ normally uses to bury sensitive records, and they wrote the law to shut all of them down. To be clear, the DOJ will still try to hide, but it’s going to fail.
Here’s what the bill actually does:
They can’t hide anything for “embarrassment,” “reputational harm,” or “political sensitivity.”
That’s an explicit statutory ban. No shielding Trump, Clinton, Gates, etc. The law literally forbids it.
The argument of “Everything will suddenly be classified!” doesn’t work either.
The bill forces DOJ to declassify to the maximum extent possible and if anything stays classified, they must publish a public unclassified summary for each redaction.
That’s not optional.
“New investigations” don’t block release.
The “active investigation” exception is temporary, narrow, document-specific, and requires a written public justification in the Federal Register.
You can’t just open a random investigation and hide whole categories of documents under this bill.
The best part? Congress still gets the full list of names.
No matter what gets redacted publicly, DOJ must give Congress an unredacted list of every government official and politically exposed person named in the files. No exceptions. Not for classification. Not for investigations. Not for national security.
And enforcement is real. This is a mandatory “shall release” statute. If DOJ drags its feet, it goes straight to D.C. District Court, which has zero patience for agencies abusing secrecy laws.
This isn’t a symbolic transparency bill. It’s one of the tightest, most loophole-proof disclosure laws Congress has ever passed — which is exactly why all of their objections on the GOP side were never successful or just weak attempts to attack a statute that defines CSAM.
People can be cynical all day, but the text is the text.
And the text is a brick wall against the usual bullshit.
The entire thing is adb am active investigation so we’ll get this, except for democrat names, and just enough context to imply guilt, even if they’re just being indirectly referenced.
The bill is not long and everyone who is tracking this should take the time to read it.
Your concern is valid, but Bondi isn’t given completely free reign.
SEC. 3. Report to Congress.
Within 15 days of completion of the release required under Section 2, the Attorney General shall submit to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary a report listing:
(1) All categories of records released and withheld.
(2) A summary of redactions made, including legal basis.
(3) A list of all government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials, with no redactions permitted under subsection (b)(1).
So if Bondi were to follow the law, the AG’s office will have to provide congress a summary and justification for everything that is redacted.
Which isn’t to say that I have any faith in the AG’s office following these requirements, but it should give us reason to pressure congress into holding Bondi et al. to these requirements and would give them cause for impeachement of Bondi if she does not comply.
It certainly seems to me like there’s a ton of wiggle room in there to interpret things however you want.
First of all it requires the release of:
Internal DOJ communications, including emails, memos, meeting notes, concerning decisions to charge, not charge, investigate, or decline to investigate Epstein or his associates.
Which, holy hell, is that NEVER actually going to happen lol.
As for redactions it just requires the DOJ to submit a list of:
All categories of records released and withheld and a summary of redactions made, including legal basis.
What does that mean exactly? Idk but it sure seems like that could be as simple as
“we redacted information from these emails/memos/voicemails or whatever because it was sensitive information to the victims or pertinent to an ongoing investigation.”
That’s a summary and the legal basis fully abiding by the bill.
I’m very very far from a government bill expert so I’d love to be wrong here but by the letter of that bill, it seems insanely easy to still redact pretty much whatever you want.
There’s your problem. This regime has proven time and time again that laws are rules for thee, not me. If the laws help them, their hands are tied. If it hinders them, they just close their eyes and whistle until it goes away.
Yeah but the fix was in long ago when the 1,000 FBI agents or whatever we’re removing Trump’s name from the files. If his details were already redacted then they can’t tie that back to Bondi, right?
This seems so obvious that I must be missing something
There it is…
We knew it. We’re not stupid (some of us). We’ll see how it plays out I guess. No surprise here. They know we know, and how obviously transparent this is.
I think our only hope is if enough MAGA drop their support, which is a lot to fucking hope for.
What do you make of this?
Since when has this administration ever followed the law?
Hopeful. Time will tell.
It’s slop. Read the bill for yourself to decide what you think of it.
The entire thing is adb am active investigation so we’ll get this, except for democrat names, and just enough context to imply guilt, even if they’re just being indirectly referenced.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405/text
The bill is not long and everyone who is tracking this should take the time to read it.
Your concern is valid, but Bondi isn’t given completely free reign.
So if Bondi were to follow the law, the AG’s office will have to provide congress a summary and justification for everything that is redacted.
Which isn’t to say that I have any faith in the AG’s office following these requirements, but it should give us reason to pressure congress into holding Bondi et al. to these requirements and would give them cause for impeachement of Bondi if she does not comply.
It certainly seems to me like there’s a ton of wiggle room in there to interpret things however you want.
First of all it requires the release of:
Which, holy hell, is that NEVER actually going to happen lol.
As for redactions it just requires the DOJ to submit a list of:
What does that mean exactly? Idk but it sure seems like that could be as simple as “we redacted information from these emails/memos/voicemails or whatever because it was sensitive information to the victims or pertinent to an ongoing investigation.” That’s a summary and the legal basis fully abiding by the bill.
I’m very very far from a government bill expert so I’d love to be wrong here but by the letter of that bill, it seems insanely easy to still redact pretty much whatever you want.
There’s your problem. This regime has proven time and time again that laws are rules for thee, not me. If the laws help them, their hands are tied. If it hinders them, they just close their eyes and whistle until it goes away.
Yeah but the fix was in long ago when the 1,000 FBI agents or whatever we’re removing Trump’s name from the files. If his details were already redacted then they can’t tie that back to Bondi, right?
This seems so obvious that I must be missing something
There are carve outs to that exception. Names of individuals who are not victims cannot be withheld.
And full summaries of all items withheld must be provided.
It will still likely end up in court.