Miller's group argues that the Presidential Information Technology Committee "Creates a presumption that the President controls all information he receives" and says that it could have sweeping implications for Trump's 40-count indictment of allegedly mishandling classified records.
"The Defendant has violated the FOIA by failing to reasonably search for records responsive to AFL's FOIA request and release nonexempt records within the prescribed time limit," lawyers for Miller's group wrote, noting the agency only acknowledged the request on March 15 and "Has not released any responsive records" as of Thursday.
The memorandum made clear that any records sent to EOP systems or records stemming from those systems are controlled by the president.
Trump has argued that under the Presidential Records Act, he had broad authority to designate documents from his time in office as personal property, and he has argued his decision to take the material to his Mar-a-Lago estate showed that he treated the records as such.
Also at issue in AFL's quest for information are the boxes of documents that Trump provided from his Florida home to the National Archives and Records Administration.
"Based upon its inspection of those records, the National Archives decided that classified information may have been possessed illegally and made a referral to the Department of Justice," AFL wrote in its nine-page complaint.
If the court finds that the records subject to PITC are indeed agency records and not presidential records and were separately preserved by the DOD, Epstein argues that it still "Raises serious questions" about NARA's decision to refer Trump to the Department of Justice because the referral would be based on a "False claim that President Trump removed presidential records," Epstein added.
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