Update: Names of Jack Smith’s Deputies Exposed!
Judicial Watch Obtains Rosters Identifying Jack Smith’s Top Deputies
Court Orders Release of The Covenant School Shooting Records
Judicial Watch Sues for FBI Public Corruption Unit Records on Trump
Judicial Watch Sues FEC for Records on ActBlue Donor Fraud Allegations
Judicial Watch Sues Gov. Pritzker over Photos with ‘Peacekeeper’ Charged in Murder
Judicial Watch Sues Homeland Security for Images of Attack on ICE Detention Facility
Judicial Watch Obtains Rosters Identifying Jack Smith’s Top Deputies
Overcoming major resistance in the justice bureaucracy, we finally obtained the rosters identifying the names of top deputies who worked for former Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The names were released after we filed a May 2023 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit challenging the Biden Justice Department’s rejection of our request for “staff rosters, phone lists, or similar records depicting all employees hired by or detailed to office of Special Counsel Jack Smith” (Judicial Watch Inc. v U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:23-cv-01485)).
The names on the rosters released to Judicial Watch are:
Ahmed M. Baset
Greg D. Bernstein
Jay I. Bratt
Matthew B. Burke
Joseph P. “J.P.” Cooney
Karen Y. Drolet
Timothy “Tad” A. Duree
Julie A. Edelstein
Karen E. Gilbert
Jonathan W. Haray
David V. Harbach
Ray N. Hulser
Myron L. Marlin
Stephen J. Marzen
Ariel C. McIntyre
Anne P. McNamara
James I. Pearce
John M. Pellettieri
David A. Raskin
Brett C. Reynolds
David M. Rody
Michael E. Thakur
Maria K. Vento
Brooke C. Watson
Thomas P. Windom
Earlier, we obtained a similar roster for top staffers working for former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but a federal court upheld the Biden Justice Department’s extraordinary claim that the rosters had to be kept secret because they were “compiled for law enforcement purposes” and implicated the staffers’ privacy interests.”
We overcame a wall of resistance to get the names of the attorneys helping rogue prosecutor Jack Smith in his attempt to upend our Republic. We are pleased that the Bondi Justice Department finally stopped defending the indefensible and turned over the rosters to us and the American people.
We are a national leader in exposing the lawfare and abuse targeting President Trump and other American citizens.
In January 2026, we sued the Justice Department for communications of FBI agents regarding the prosecution of former Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No.1:26-cv-00079)).
In September 2025, we sued the Justice Department for communications between former Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault and the anti-Trump organization American Oversight (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv–02556)).
In July 2025, we sued the Justice Department for records about the FBI’s “Arctic Frost,” investigation (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-02011)).
In June 2025, we sued Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes for her communications with Smith (Judicial Watch v. Kristin Mayes and Arizona Department of Law (CV 2025-020674).
In March 2025, we sued the Justice Department for details of any investigations, inquiries, or referrals concerning potential misconduct of any person working for Smith (Judicial Watch Inc. v U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-00801)).
Also in March, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis was ordered to turn over 212 pages of records to a state court judge. The court also ordered Willis to detail how the records were found and the reason for withholding them from the public. The records were belatedly found in response to a Judicial Watch request and lawsuit for communications with Smith and the House January 6 Committee (Judicial Watch Inc. v. Fani Willis et al. (No. 24-CV-002805)).
Court Orders Release of The Covenant School Shooting Records
This is a major legal victory: The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County must release non-exempt portions of records related to the March 27, 2023, at The Covenant School shooting, including the shooter’s writings.
Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old trans artist, was killed by police after opening fire on the private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, killing three adults and three children.
In May 2023, we filed an open records lawsuit on behalf of retired Hamilton County Sheriff James Hammond and the Tennessee Firearms Association, Inc. (“TFA”) (Hammond et al. v. Metropolitan Govt of Nashville et al. (No. 23-0538-III)).
The appeals court rejected every basis behind the lower court’s unprecedented decision to keep the records secret. The court held that the police investigative file is a public record, that the “ongoing investigation” rationale for hiding the records is now moot as the investigation is over, and that the court incorrectly imposed a blanket secrecy rule based on speculative school-security or copycat-crime concerns. It also rejected the trial court’s unilateral creation of policy-based exemptions not found in statute. The court also ruled that federal copyright law does not override the Public Records Act and does not justify wholesale suppression of records. Limited redactions may apply, but complete secrecy – including for the shooter’s writings – is unlawful.
The case was returned to the lower court with instructions to expedite its proceedings:
The trial court has discretion to prescribe additional procedures as necessary to govern the proceedings on remand. The entire process should be concluded as expeditiously as possible. Because almost three years have passed since the first request for this information, we encourage the trial court to impose upon [Metro] an expedited schedule for completion of its review of the [requested public records].
Once again, our expert persistence in court achieved a transparency breakthrough on the awful Covenant School shooting. The public has a right to know fully how and why this terrible shooting took place.
In April 2025, we obtained U.S. Department of Justice records of The Covenant School shooter’s manifesto. Additional records were obtained in August 2025.
John I. Harris III, Esq., of Schulman, LeRoy & Bennett, PC in Nashville, TN, assisted Judicial Watch with the lawsuit.
Judicial Watch Sues for FBI Public Corruption Unit Records on Trump
We are fighting for a full account of how the Biden team weaponized the full weight of the federal government to target their political foes.
We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for records regarding the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Public Corruption Unit’s investigation of Donald Trump codenamed “Arctic Frost.” The investigation was part of an unprecedented effort by the Biden administration to prosecute and jail Trump for questioning Biden’s controversial election victory (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:26-cv-00163)).
We sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the FBI failed to respond to an October 7, 2025, FOIA request for the Washington Field Office’s Public Corruption Unit (the “CR-15” squad) investigative reports on Operation Arctic Frost, Justice Department approvals for investigative steps or techniques, and communications with former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office.
Arctic Frost was opened in April 2022 under the Biden administration.
In January 2025, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) publicized records about the targeting of Trump:
Internal FBI emails and predicating documents provided to Grassley and released jointly by the two senators show Timothy Thibault, a former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) who was forced to retire from the Bureau after Grassley exposed his public anti-Trump bias, authored the initial language for what ultimately became Jack Smith’s federal case against Trump regarding the 2020 presidential election. Records show Thibault essentially opened and approved his own investigation.
On October 6, 2025, Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, revealed that he had obtained an explosiveFBI document which shows the Biden FBI targeted eight Republican senators’ personal cell phones for “tolling data” as part of the Arctic Frost investigation.
After the revelations were made public, FBI Director Kash Patel abolished the CR-15 squad.
We are a national leader in exposing the lawfare and abuse targeting Trump and other American citizens.
In November 2025, we sued the Justice Department for the emails of former Special Counsel Jack Smith with officials in Georgia and New York and with the White House, congressional and law enforcement offices regarding his investigation into Trump (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-03849)).
In January 2025, a federal court ordered the Justice Department to provide us information on communications between Special Counsel Jack Smith and Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis regarding the prosecution of Trump. In May, the Justice Department was directed to search text messages from the Special Counsel’s Office for responsive records (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 23-cv-03110).
Also in January 2025, records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) showed it and the FBI warning that law enforcement agencies should be prepared for a surge in threats from so-called Domestic Violence Extremists (DVEs) following the August 8, 2022, FBI raid on former Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (1:22-cv-03275)).
In May 2024, we uncovered a recording of a phone message left by an FBI special agent for someone at the Secret Service in the context of the raid on Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:22-cv-03147)).
In February 2024, the Justice Department asked a federal court to allow the agency to keep secret the names of top staffers working in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office that was targeting Trump and other Americans (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:23-cv-01485)).
In August 2022, we successfully sued to unseal the search warrant affidavit used to justify the unprecedented raid on the home of then-former President Trump (U.S. v. Sealed Search Warrant (No. 9:22-mj-08332)).
Judicial Watch Sues FEC for Records on ActBlue Donor Fraud Allegations
ActBlue is the primary online fundraising platform for Democrat candidates, political action committees (PACs), and progressive causes. It processes billions in small-dollar donations.
We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for records related to alleged fraudulent donor activities by Act Blue. (Judicial Watch Inc. v Federal Election Commission (No. 1:26-cv-00149)).
We sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Federal Election Commission failed to respond to a September 2025 FOIA request for:
1. Records, including reports, audits, or investigations of ActBlue’s donor verification processes, donor irregularities or potential donor fraud.
2. Communications between the [Federal Election Commission’s] Office of Compliance and any state attorney general’s office or the U.S. Department of Justice, about any alleged irregularities in ActBlue’s donor verification policies and procedures, donor irregularities, or potential donor fraudulent activity.
According to an April 2025 congressional joint interim staff report, “Fraud on ActBlue: How the Democrats’ Top Fundraising Platform Opens the Door for Illegal Election Contributions:”
Internal documents … show that ActBlue staff and executives fail to take the threat of fraud seriously. ActBlue employees regularly demonstrated an unfounded belief that bad actors were not seeking to fraudulently contribute to Democrat campaigns and causes. For example, ActBlue’s training guide for new fraud-prevention employees instructed them to “look for reasons to accept contributions,” rather than err on the side of flagging a suspicious donation.
***
Altogether, ActBlue’s internal documents and communications paint a damning picture: despite repeated instances of fraudulent donations to Democrat campaigns and causes from domestic and foreign sources, ActBlue is not demonstrating a serious effort to deter fraud on its platform. [Emphasis in original] At best, ActBlue’s conduct displays a profound disrespect for the principle that only Americans should decide American elections. At worst, it may violate the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA), which states that persons who “knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person” may face criminal liability.
There are legitimate, grave concerns that ActBlue has enabled illegal fundraising. By failing to prevent widespread straw-donor schemes and other tactics, it is likely that fraudulent and even foreign-sourced contributions have crept into Democrat campaign coffers.
We are a national leader in election integrity and voting rights litigation, with a record of successful lawsuits enforcing constitutional redistricting standards and cleaning voter rolls nationwide.
Judicial Watch Sues Gov. Pritzker over Photos with ‘Peacekeeper’ Charged in Murder
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) is stonewalling us on our request for records about a cozy photo-op with an employee.
We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against Pritzker for records regarding a September 2025 “Peacekeeper” event at which Pritzker was photographed with anti-violence employee Kellen McMiller, who days later was arrested and charged with first-degree murder (Judicial Watch Inc. v. Office of the Governor (No. 2026CH000004)).
Pritzker was photographed with McMiller, a paid employee of the state-funded “Peacekeeper” program, at the September 5, 2025, event in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. On September 18, McMiller was arrested on first-degree murder charges arising from a September 11 “smash-and-grab” robbery at a Michigan Avenue Louis Vuitton store in Chicago that left one person dead.
We filed the lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Sangamon County, Illinois, County Department, Chancery Division after Pritzker’s office failed to adequately respond to a September 22, 2025, FOIA request for:
All photographs, images, or visual media depicting Governor JB Pritzker and Kellen McMiller (or any individual identified as a participant in the peacekeeper program wearing a “peacekeeper” vest) taken during the Governor’s visits to Chicago on or around September 5, 2025, including but not limited to the event in Englewood focused on community violence intervention.
The original and any edited versions of the press release or newsroom posting from September 3-5, 2025, titled or related to “Gov. Pritzker Meets with Community Violence Intervention Partners” or similar, including metadata showing edits, removals, or additions.
Communications (including emails, memos, text messages, notes, or logs) regarding the decision to include, remove, or edit the photo of Governor Pritzker and Kellen McMiller from any official state website, press release, or social media. This includes communications involving the Governor, his staff, and communications team, or legal advisors.
Any background checks, vetting documents, participant lists, or selection criteria records related to Kellen McMiller’s involvement in the peacekeeper program or the September 5, 2025, event, including any knowledge of his criminal history, warrants, or prior interactions with state officials.
All records of communications or interactions between Governor JB Pritzker (or his office) and Kellen McMiller, including invitations to events, follow-ups, or any other contacts before or after September 5, 2025.
Any reports, evaluations, or data on the peacekeeper program’s participant vetting processes, including background or other checks.
At the time of the photo with Pritzker, McMiller had four warrants out for his arrest, including in Florida, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
After meeting with McMiller and other Peacekeepers, Pritzker wrote in a Facebook post, “It’s folks like these that we need more of doing the hard work of community violence prevention, not troops on the ground to undermine efforts fighting crime.”
Pritzker’s office featured the photo with McMiller in a press release after the governor’s visit but later removed the photo.
The Peacekeeper photographed with Pritzker had four active arrest warrants at the time. Illinois taxpayers deserve transparency on how participants in state-funded anti-violence programs are vetted. The state should prioritize rigorous screening over partisan criticism of federal crime-fighting efforts.
Judicial Watch Sues Homeland Security for Images of Attack on ICE Detention Facility
On July 4, 2025, a mob attacked the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, TX.
The ambush on the Prairieland ICE facility was a predictable outcome of years of anti-ICE and anti-border-security rhetoric. The media and the radical Left repeatedly label ICE agents as “racists” and “kidnappers” and are creating a climate conducive to domestic terrorist attacks.
We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for video footage and photographs of the attack (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No.1:26-cv-0331)).
We sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, failed to respond to a July 10, 2025, FOIA request for:
1. All video surveillance footage depicting the attack on the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas on or about July 4, 2025
2. All body worn camera footage depicting the attack on the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas on or about July 4, 2025
3. All photographs depicting the attack on the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas on or about July 4, 2025
Immigration and Customs Enforcement described the incident at its Prairieland detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, as a “planned ambush.” A group of suspects began shooting fireworks at the facility while others damaged vehicles and sprayed graffiti, apparently to lure officers outside. When officers responded, one was shot in the neck. Attackers fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed detention officers. Authorities say the suspects intended to kill corrections officers.
A federal grand jury indicted nine individuals identified by prosecutors as members of Antifa, and charged seven additional people “with offenses including rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer and unarmed correctional officers at the Prairieland Detention Center.”
President Donald Trump in September 2025 issued an executive order designating Antifa as “a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.” He designated it a “domestic terrorist organization,” and directed federal law enforcement to “utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all [Antifa-aligned] illegal operations.”
In December 2025, we sued the Department of Homeland Security for records on migrants who entered the United States from 2020–2025, using arrest warrants and removal orders as proof of identification.
In November 2025, we sued Evanston, IL, Mayor Daniel Biss for records related to obstruction of federal immigration enforcement, as well as Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs for records regarding her office reportedly ordering state police and the National Guard to withhold cooperation from federal immigration enforcement authorities.
In December 2025 we pointed out that in just two states with “sanctuary” policies, nearly 9,000 criminal aliens were released from jails and prisons since January 20, defying Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers to deport them.
In October 2025, we reported on a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), established by Trump on the day of his inauguration to tackle a pandemic of transnational organized crime created by the Biden administration’s “disgraceful” open border policies, had made thousands of arrests and seized over 1,000 illegal firearms, 91 tons of drugs and $3 million in currency.
Until next week,
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