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State Dep’t Sued for Records Tied to Monitoring Trump Family [Weekly Update]
Judicial Watch ^ | January 17, 2020 | Tom Fitton

Posted on 01/17/2020 1:02:19 PM PST by jazusamo

Judicial Watch Sues State Dept. for Records Tied to Alleged Monitoring of Trump Family and Journalists by Amb. Marie Yovanovitch
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Judicial Watch Sues State Dept. for Records Tied to Alleged Monitoring of Trump Family and Journalists by Amb. Marie Yovanovitch

Judicial Watch is going to court to uncover details of the alleged monitoring of President Trump’s family, lawyer and journalists, as ordered by the since-recalled U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.The two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits against the State Department for documents tied to the alleged monitoring of President Trump’s intimate circle and journalists covering him is an extension of our Judicial Watch investigation , which began in October 2019, into the alleged monitoring, via CrowdTangle and other means. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is alleged to have ordered State Department entities to conduct the monitoring. The list of the alleged targets includes:

Jack Posobiec
Donald Trump Jr.
Laura Ingraham
Sean Hannity
Michael McFaul (Obama’s ambassador to Russia)
Dan Bongino
Ryan Saavedra
Rudy Giuliani
Sebastian Gorka
John Solomon
Lou Dobbs
Pamella Geller
Sara Carter

Amb. Yovanovitch reportedly ordered monitoring keyed to the following search terms: “Biden,” “Giuliani,” “Soros” and “Yovanovitch.”

As Judicial Watch previously reported, prior to being recalled as ambassador to Ukraine in the spring, Yovanovitch reportedly created a list of individuals who were to be monitored via social media and other means. Ukraine embassy staff made the request to the Washington D.C. headquarters office of the department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs . After several days, Yovanovitch’s staff was informed that the request was illegal and the monitoring either ceased or was concealed via the State Department Global Engagement Center , which has looser restrictions on collecting information.

“This is not an obscure rule; everyone in public diplomacy or public affairs knows they can’t make lists and monitor U.S. citizens unless there is a major national security reason,” according to a senior State Department official. If the illicit operation occurred, it seems to indicate a clear political bias against the president and his supporters. Yovanovitch, a career diplomat who also has led American embassies in Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, was appointed ambassador to Ukraine by Obama in 2016. She was recalled by the State Department in May and remains a State Department employee in Washington D.C.

We filed the two FOIA lawsuits after the State Department failed to respond to October 9 and October 23, 2019 requests for documents about both “the monitoring of any U.S.-based journalist, reporter or media commentator by any employee or office of the Department of State” and the CrowdTangle social media monitoring program.

On October 10, 2019, Congressman Devin Nunes told Sean Hannity on his program that, “What I’ve heard is that there were strange requests, irregular requests to monitor not just one journalist, but multiple journalists…” Hannity followed this statement by adding, multiple sources also told him they “believe there is evidence that government resources were used to monitor communications” of U.S. journalists and that Yovanovitch may have been involved. Yovanovitch was questioned on the issue during the impeachment proceeding in the House and seemed to deny any illegal monitoring took place.

Q: “Could you help us understand how the embassy and the State Department back in Washington collects information on social media?”

A: “I can’t really answer the question, because I don’t know all the inner details of how the press section works to gather information. But they provide us with a press summary, or they used to provide me, I mean. They provide the embassy with a press summary and it goes out to other people at the State Department as well.”

Q: “And is part of that monitoring social media accounts from …”

A: “Yeah. I mean, in today’s age, yeah, social media is really important.”

So, was the Ukraine Embassy illegally monitoring American critics of Ambassador Yovanovitch? It certainly is disturbing that the State Department seems to be stonewalling Judicial Watch’s requests for information on this controversy until after the impeachment of President Trump.

Also, in November 2019, our Judicial Watch lawyers filed a lawsuit against the State Department seeking documents related to a reported “untouchables list” given in late 2016 by Yovanovitch to Ukraine Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko. Lutsenko told The New York Times that Yovanovitch “pressed him not to prosecute anti-corruption activists.” Lutsenko reportedly said earlier the do-not-prosecute list included a founder of the Ukraine group Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC), which was funded by Soros foundations, the U.S. federal government and two members of the Ukrainian Parliament who vocally supported the Soros group’s agenda.


Federal Court Orders Snap Hearing on Awan Brothers, Congressional Democrat IT Scandal after DOJ Files Document under Seal

Continued


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; Mexico; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: antac; awanbrothers; buttigieg; dhs; doj; drugcartels; fbi; illegalaliens; isis; islamicterrorists; itscandal; judicialwatch; jw; mexico; migrants; monitoring; southbendpd; statedept; terrorists; tomfitton; trumpfamily; ukraine; wassermanschultz; weeklyupdate; yovanovitch

1 posted on 01/17/2020 1:02:19 PM PST by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo

Ouch!

That could leave a mark.


2 posted on 01/17/2020 1:03:05 PM PST by DoughtyOne (The Leftistist media and particularly CNN NEWS should come with a ten day supply of Cipro.)
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To: GOPJ; Diana in Wisconsin; ColdOne; Art in Idaho; Conservative Gato; ptsal; onyx; Tucker39; ...

Off the Wall Ping!

Contact to be added.


3 posted on 01/17/2020 1:07:54 PM PST by jazusamo (Have You Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: jazusamo

Judicial Watch: Doing the work congressional Republicans refuse to do.


4 posted on 01/17/2020 1:08:11 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (BLACK LIVES MAGA)
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To: DoughtyOne

You bet, hopefully a huge one.


5 posted on 01/17/2020 1:08:52 PM PST by jazusamo (Have You Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: Jeff Chandler
Judicial Watch: Doing the work congressional Republicans refuse to do.

Yet the Government will move heaven and earth to see if Ambassador Yovanabitch was followed.

6 posted on 01/17/2020 1:11:09 PM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: jazusamo

There’s yavonavitch again...Whaddya think her take on the Ukrain Foreign Aid was? .5%? maybe .75%?


7 posted on 01/17/2020 1:13:56 PM PST by SGCOS
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MAGA!

Support Free Republic Folks, Donate Today!

Please bump the Freepathon or click above to donate or become a new monthly donor!

8 posted on 01/17/2020 1:25:36 PM PST by jazusamo (Have You Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: SGCOS

I smell a rat. There a whole lot of rats frothing at the mouth over Ukrain $$$.


9 posted on 01/17/2020 2:40:12 PM PST by CMailBag
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To: SGCOS

I smell a rat. There a whole lot of rats frothing at the mouth over Ukrain $$$.


10 posted on 01/17/2020 2:43:12 PM PST by CMailBag
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To: SGCOS

Split the difference: .625%. What the hay, it’s just our tax dollars.


11 posted on 01/17/2020 3:01:53 PM PST by upchuck (For muslims to freely practice Islam, others must die. ~ h/t Lurkinanloomin)
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To: jazusamo

Would like to think that.


12 posted on 01/17/2020 5:31:01 PM PST by DoughtyOne (The Leftistist media and particularly CNN NEWS should come with a ten day supply of Cipro.)
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To: jazusamo

There must be a new law to prevent CIA employees from holding Ambassadorship.


13 posted on 01/17/2020 6:17:21 PM PST by Jumper
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To: jazusamo

WOW THIS REALLY IS YUGE AND SERIES!

BUMP!!!!


14 posted on 01/17/2020 11:02:22 PM PST by Freedom56v2
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