Federal judge rules in favor of Raw Story in fight to access records from U.S. Navy

A federal judge categorically knocked down exemptions claimed by the U.S. Navy in a sweeping order that handed a victory to Raw Story in its effort to access records of an investigation into whether a neo-Nazi and Marine Corps veteran mishandled classified materials. The order categorically rejected the Navy’s claims that even acknowledging whether it has the responsive records would both put national security at risk and violate the former service member’s privacy rights. “Thus, disclosure would offer the public visibility into defendants’ ‘performance of statutory duties’ and would further ‘let citizens know ‘what their government is up to.’” The Navy argued that it did not have to confirm or deny if it possesses the records because “the fact of the existence or non-existence” of the records is classified itself. In a declaration cited by the Navy, a lawyer for Naval Criminal Investigative Service had asserted that if the agency were to acknowledge whether it had the records, “adversaries of the U.S. government… could use such information to better avoid detection and reveal facts about the NCIS’s counterintelligence services and defenses against foreign intelligence threats.” AliKhan rejected that argument as “as vague and conclusory statements that could apply to any NCIS investigation.” The judge also dismissed the Navy’s claim that the records should be withheld to protect Duncan’s privacy interests. “Given the court’s order, Navy no longer has a valid basis for refusing to confirm or deny if it possesses responsive records,” Match explained.