Judicial Watch » The Docket http://www.judicialwatch.org Because no one is above the law! Thu, 24 May 2012 20:54:05 +0000 en hourly 1 Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Transportation (No. 12-324) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-transportation-no-12-324/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-transportation-no-12-324/#comments Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:29:12 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12851 Judicial Watchfiled a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on February 29, 2012, against the Obama Department of Transportation (DOT) to obtain records concerning the construction of the proposed California High-Speed Rail (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Transportation (No. 12-324)). The Obama administration has pledged $3.3 billion in federal funds to construct the first leg of the project, which is planned for California’s sparsely populated Central Valley. An independent audit recently concluded that the project is an “immense financial risk.”

Judicial Watch filed its original FOIA request on January 4, 2012, with the Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”), a component of DOT, seeking access to the following public records:

All documents, communications and correspondence (including electronic email) transmitted between the Federal Railroad Administration and the California High Speed Rail Authority addressing or relating to the route alternatives under consideration for the proposed California High Speed Rail within Madera County and Merced County, California.

]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-transportation-no-12-324/feed/ 0 Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 12-277) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-justice-no-12-277/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-justice-no-12-277/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:29:35 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12774 Pursuant to its original Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted to the DOJ’s Office of Information Policy and the Office of Solicitor General on December 7, 2011, Judicial Watch seeks access to the following information to help to determine if Justice Kagan and her top deputies participated in Obamacare meetings and phone calls:

All calendars, schedules, phone logs and agenda for each of the following individuals: (1) Elena Kagan; (2) Neal Katyal; (3) Edwin Kneedler; (4) Malcolm Stewart; and (5) Michael Dreeben.

Neal Katyal, Edwin Kneedler, Malcolm Stewart and Michael Dreeben all served as Deputy Solicitors General under Kagan. The time frame for this request is September 1, 2009, through August 31, 2010.

]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-justice-no-12-277/feed/ 0 Judicial Watch v. Department of Energy (No. 12-171) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-energy-no-12-171/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-energy-no-12-171/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:35:41 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12382 This lawsuit was filed following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain records regarding a $529 million loan granted by the Department of Energy to Fisker Automotive for the manufacture of Karma and Nina electric vehicles.

]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-energy-no-12-171/feed/ 0 Judicial Watch v. US Navy (No. 12-172) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-us-navy-no-12-172/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-us-navy-no-12-172/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:44:58 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12359 Judicial Watch filed this lawsuit for records regarding a controversial $1.2 billion government loan guarantee from the Obama Department of Energy to SunPower, a California solar company reportedly $820 million in debt.  A similar lawsuit was filed on the same date by Judicial Watch against the U.S. Departments of Interior and Treasury for related documents.

Pursuant to Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed on October 21, 2011, Judicial Watch seeks the following:

  • Any and all records regarding, concerning or related to the issuance of a Department of Energy loan guarantee to SunPower, Inc. and/or NRG Energy, Inc. on or about September 30, 2011.
  • Any and all records of communication between any official, officer, or employee of the Departments of the Interior and/or Treasury and any official, officer or employee of any other government agency, department of office regarding, concerning or related to any loan guarantees applied for, by, and/or awarded to SunPower, Inc. and/or NRG Energy.
  • Any and all records of communication between any official, officer, or employee of the Department of the Interior and/or Treasury and any officer, employee or representative of Lang, Hansen, O’Malley and Miller, a government relations firm headquartered in Sacramento, California.
]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-us-navy-no-12-172/feed/ 0 Judicial Watch v. Dept of the Interior and Dept of the Treasury (No. 12-170) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-dept-of-the-interior-and-dept-of-the-treasury-no-12-170/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-dept-of-the-interior-and-dept-of-the-treasury-no-12-170/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:43:15 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12358 Judicial Watch filed this lawsuit for records regarding a controversial $1.2 billion government loan guarantee from the Obama Department of Energy to SunPower, a California solar company reportedly $820 million in debt.  A similar lawsuit was filed on the same date by Judicial Watch against the U.S. Department of Navy for related documents.

Pursuant to Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed with the Departments of Interior and Treasury on October 21, 2011, Judicial Watch seeks the following:

  • Any and all records regarding, concerning or related to the issuance of a Department of Energy loan guarantee to SunPower, Inc. and/or NRG Energy, Inc. on or about September 30, 2011.
  • Any and all records of communication between any official, officer, or employee of the Departments of the Interior and/or Treasury and any official, officer or employee of any other government agency, department of office regarding, concerning or related to any loan guarantees applied for, by, and/or awarded to SunPower, Inc. and/or NRG Energy.
  • Any and all records of communication between any official, officer, or employee of the Department of the Interior and/or Treasury and any officer, employee or representative of Lang, Hansen, O’Malley and Miller, a government relations firm headquartered in Sacramento, California.
]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-dept-of-the-interior-and-dept-of-the-treasury-no-12-170/feed/ 0 Chinagate http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/chinagate/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/chinagate/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:44:03 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12336 Meng v. Schwartz

Judicial Watch filed this important political corruption lawsuit on behalf of shareholders of a well-connected U.S. corporation that transferred sensitive U.S. missile technology to China in the 1990s. From approximately 1994 to 1998, Bernard Schwartz, who was the chairman of Loral Space & Communication Ltd., became the single largest donor to the Democratic Party by making contributions totaling approximately $1.5 million to various Democratic Party entities, including President Clinton’s 1996 reelection campaign.

During this same time period, Schwartz and Loral also persuaded the Clinton Administration to transfer technology export licensing authority from the State Department to the more politically-influenced Commerce Department. Schwartz and Loral then obtained licenses from the Commerce Department that were needed to launch Loral-manufactured communications satellites into orbit from China.

Congressional and other related investigations subsequently found that, when a Chinese rocket attempting to launch a Loral-manufactured satellite failed, Loral helped China to identify the cause of the failure, thereby advancing China’s missile program and threatening U.S. national security. Loral subsequently paid a $14 million fine relating to this transfer of sensitive U.S. technology.

Judicial Watch’s shareholder lawsuit sought to hold Schwartz and the Clinton Administration accountable under federal racketeering law, arguing that Schwartz’s campaign contributions constituted a form of bribery. The lawsuit ultimately did not go forward, but it succeeded in bringing additional public scrutiny to this very serious case of political corruption.

]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/chinagate/feed/ 0 Judicial Watch v. Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency (No. 12-0049) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-defense-and-central-intelligence-agency-no-12-0049/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-defense-and-central-intelligence-agency-no-12-0049/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:10:11 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12241 Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to obtain documents regarding the making of a movie about the US Navy SEAL raid which killed Osama bin Laden.

]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-defense-and-central-intelligence-agency-no-12-0049/feed/ 0 Judicial Watch v. Department of Housing & Urban Development and Department of Justice (No. 12-0002) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-housing-urban-development-and-department-of-justice-no-12-0002/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-housing-urban-development-and-department-of-justice-no-12-0002/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:05:47 +0000 admin_clee http://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=12237 Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on January 3, 2012, against the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to obtain documents pertaining to accusations of fraud against the nation’s five largest mortgage companies and the creation of “federal accounts” to settle probes into faulty mortgage practices. The Obama administration has reportedly been engaged in settlement negotiations behind closed doors with mortgage companies that would result in at least $20 billion in payments from the nation’s major banks.

Pursuant to a Judicial Watch FOIA request filed with the DOJ and HUD on May 17, 2011, Judicial Watch seeks the following records:

  • A set of government audits used to support allegations that the nation’s five largest mortgage companies of defrauding taxpayers in the handling of foreclosures on homes purchased with government-backed loans.
  • A term sheet which outlined the Obama administration’s settlement offer to the mortgage companies accused of fraud. The terms described on this document allegedly included the creation of a federal account funded by the nation’s largest mortgage firms to help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure and settle state and federal probes into alleged faulty mortgages practices.
]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-department-of-housing-urban-development-and-department-of-justice-no-12-0002/feed/ 0 Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 11-1497) http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-justice-no-11-1497/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-justice-no-11-1497/#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:21:35 +0000 admin_clee https://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=11659 Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on August 19, 2011, against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain records related to the agency’s communications with Estelle Rogers, a former ACORN attorney currently serving as Director of Advocacy for the ACORN-connected organization Project Vote, President Obama’s former employer. Judicial Watch is investigating the extent to which the DOJ and Project Vote are partnering on a national campaign to use the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) to register more individuals on public assistance, widely considered a key voting demographic for the Obama 2012 campaign.

]]> http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/judicial-watch-v-u-s-department-of-justice-no-11-1497/feed/ 0 John Doe, et al., v. Maryland State Board of Elections http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/john-doe-et-al-v-maryland-state-board-of-elections/ http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/john-doe-et-al-v-maryland-state-board-of-elections/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:01:28 +0000 admin_clee https://www.judicialwatch.org/?post_type=docket_case&p=11584 The Maryland DREAM Act was enacted by the Maryland General Assembly and signed by Governor Martin O’Malley on May 10, 2011. The law makes certain illegal aliens eligible to pay reduced tuition rates at Maryland community colleges and public higher education institutions, including the University of Maryland. The MDPetitions.com petition drive collected 132,071 signatures, nearly twice the amount required by law to put the new benefit to voters in a referendum.

Illegal aliens and the activist group Casa de Maryland challenged the petition drive in court to give taxpayer dollar subsidies for college tuition for certain illegal aliens. On October 7, 2011, MDPetitions.com was granted permission to intervene in the lawsuit which seeks to deny voters an up-or-down vote on the Maryland DREAM Act. The MDPetitions.com group is represented by Judicial Watch. The chairman of MDPetitions.com is Maryland Assembly Delegate Neil Parrott of Washington County; Delegate Patrick McDonough of Baltimore and Harford Counties is its honorary chairman.

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