Empower Oversight has appealed (letter here) a decision by the Department of Justice that partially denied the organization’s request for an entire category of records related to the department’s hiring and employment of Christina Calce, who currently serves on the minority staff of the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. Empower Oversight argues that while some information may be appropriate for redaction, there is a substantial public interest in other parts of Calce’s files, and thus the categorical denial is improper in light of her significant political contributions, her access to information about FBI whistleblowers while at the Justice Department, and her role in the public release of confidential whistleblower testimony without authorization of the Judiciary Committee.
In May 2023, Empower Oversight filed the initial Freedom of Information Act (letter here) request with the department for information regarding Calce.