WASHINGTON — We've heard the news about Osama Bin Laden's porn stash.
But will we ever find out the studios, video titles, directors or genres of the films Bin Laden's alleged to have possessed? The answer is maybe.
On Friday, less than two weeks after the capture and killing of Bin Laden, a group called Judicial Watch filed the first Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the government seeking records, photographs and video from the Abbottabod, Pakistan, encounter.
Judicial Watch filed the FOIA lawsuit at U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after it made an initial request to the Defense Department May 2.
On May 9, the Department of Defense responded, stating that "at this time, we are unable to make a release determination on your request within the 20-day statutory time period" required by the law. Defense officials also said the law allows for a 10-day extension, but that too won't give enough time to "arrive at a final release determination."
But Judicial Watch, according to the suit, claims the government is "unlawfully withholding records" that should be released under FOIA, leaving the plaintiff "irreparably harmed."
Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch's president, said in an announcement of the suit, that "incredibly, the Obama administration told us that it has no plans to comply with the Freedom of Information law, so we must now go to court."
If the FOIA lawsuit goes for Judicial Watch, nearly all information relative to Bin Laden's porn stash, as well as all other details of his compound and belongings, could be released.
Washington-based Judicial Watch describes itself as "a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation [that] promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law."
