Federal courts and judges have repeatedly ordered that any evidence or exhibits tied to Jan. 6 cases be placed in an online portal. But some of those records seem to have “disappeared” over the last week, according to a motion filed Tuesday in federal court. Whoever would do such a thing? Ha ha, just kidding! Via HuffPost:
At its peak, the portal contained tens of thousands of records including videos, images, testimony, audio recordings, text messages and more.
The Press Coalition, a group of 14 media organizations, first sought to secure all Jan. 6 trial records in 2021, resulting in a standing order for the Justice Department to preserve video exhibits from the attack on the U.S. Capitol in a portal known as USAfx. Journalists and lawyers alike can access the portal once the government grants them authorization.
But this week, the Press Coalition said video exhibits entered for at least one Capitol riot defendant, Glen Mitchell Simon, are missing. When the group asked the Justice Department about it, the department “offered no explanation for why these judicial records are no longer publicly accessible or whether any other Capitol riot records that were previously available on USAfx have disappeared as well,” according to the lawsuit.
The motion asks the court to order the Justice Department to restore Simon’s file to USAfx within 48 hours, explain why the records are missing and disclose whether any other videos or records were removed in violation of the 2021 court order. The coalition also wants the court to order that no other records be removed unless there is a formal request made to the judge, the Press Coalition is notified and permission is granted.
