Last week, America First Legal (AFL) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Defense Information Systems Agency to investigate the secretive Presidential Information Technology Committee (PITC) created by former President Barack Obama. The committee was established in response to the Russian hacking of the Executive Office of the President's network in 2014. It includes representatives from the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, among others.
One of the key aspects of the PITC is that it creates a presumption that the President controls all information he receives. According to the PITC memo, the President has exclusive control over information resources and systems provided to him. This has important implications for what a President may reasonably believe about the information given to him while in office.
This presumption becomes relevant in the case of former President Trump. Special Counsel Jack Smith's indictment against Trump claims that he was not authorized to possess or retain classified documents. However, the PITC memo may have created a reasonable belief in President Trump that he had such authority. If the information stored on the PITC network formed the basis for Smith's prosecution of Trump, it should have been disclosed to him and may be relevant to his liability.
Furthermore, if the records that Trump allegedly destroyed are still preserved within the PITC-created information systems, then other claims in the indictment may be baseless. These findings align with America First Legal's whitepaper, which argues that the President of the United States has absolute authority over presidential papers.
Dr. Dan Epstein, representing America First Legal, emphasized the importance of uncovering the truth behind the secretive Obama-era memo. He stated, "Unlocking this secret of the Obama presidency is not only important for public transparency, it has clear implications for whether the government may have failed to disclose necessary information to the defendant as part of its prosecution of former President Trump – and this information may significantly affect the evidentiary support relied upon in indicting and continuing to prosecute a former President. The American people deserve to know the truth behind this secretive memo and how it has been used."
America First Legal's FOIA request is aimed at shedding light on the operations and implications of the PITC. The findings of this investigation could have significant legal ramifications regarding the records received and possessed by President Trump. As the investigation unfolds, it will be crucial to determine the extent of the President's control over information and how it may impact the prosecution of a former President.