(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. State Department for all emails and diplomatic notes from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and other top department officials that reference former Fox News host Tucker Carlson (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:24-cv-00840)).
On February 8, 2024, the Tucker Carlson Network and X (Twitter) ran Carlson’s interview in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was the first interview with Putin to be granted to a Western journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia after the State Department failed to comply with a February 7, 2024, FOIA request for:
All (2024) emails and diplomatic notes sent to and from the following officials referencing “Tucker Carlson”: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary James O’Brien, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Yuri Kim, Deputy Assistant Secretary Sonata Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar, Deputy Assistant Secretary Joshua Huck, Deputy Assistant Secretary Douglas Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary Jacqueline Ramos, and/or Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher W. Smith.
The State Department told Judicial Watch that “unusual circumstances” had delayed the processing of the request, but have yet to provide any substantive response.
“Why is the Biden State Department violating FOIA law to hide records on Tucker Carlson?” asked Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.