In an effort to bring accountability to the Trump administration, Americans United on Aug. 5 filed a federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State.
The lawsuit explains that the department is violating federal law by refusing to fulfill AU’s public records request for information on how it’s responding to President Donald Trump’s mandate to investigate alleged anti-Christian “bias” within the department. AU filed a similar lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs in June.
AU is investigating the creation and implementation of the task force, which Trump mandated in a February executive order filled with disinformation about purported anti-Christian bias.
In April, the State Department was the first federal agency known to have demanded that employees report allegations of “anti-Christian discrimination,” through an internal cable sent out to department employees and embassies worldwide.
On May 8, Americans United filed a FOIA request with the State Department, seeking records on reports of anti-Christian or anti-religious bias dating back to Jan. 1, 2017. AU also requested records related to the department’s response to and implementation of Trump’s Anti-Christian Bias Task Force executive order.
The department failed to respond to AU’s request within 30 business days, as required by federal law.
“The Trump administration created the Anti-Christian Bias Task Force based on the false claim that there’s rampant Christian persecution within the federal government. We’ve called their bluff and demanded that they prove it — show us the evidence of widespread anti-Christian discrimination. So far, the Trump administration is ignoring our request in violation of federal transparency law — what are they hiding?” demanded Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser.
Laser added, the “State Department employs people of all religions and none who work in religiously diverse places around the world. Rather than protect everyone’s religious beliefs, this task force will misuse department resources and the principle of religious freedom to justify bigotry, discrimination and the subversion of our civil rights laws. This task force is not a response to Christian persecution; it’s an attempt to privilege Christian Nationalism. Not on our watch. Americans United will not stop fighting for church-state separation and for this nation to live up to its promise of freedom without favor and equality without exception.”
The lawsuit, Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. U.S. Department of State, was filed in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. It argues that the department unlawfully withheld records related to the response to and implementation of Trump’s task force, which the State Department was required to disclose under the Freedom of Information Act.
The lawsuit also details the State Department’s refusal to waive fees, in violation of the letter and spirit of the FOIA — a tactic that the department has been increasingly utilizing against public interest organizations seeking records under the FOIA, and which illustrates this administration’s attempts to avoid transparency.
AU Litigation Counsel Alexandra Zaretsky is the lead attorney on the case. She is also the lead attorney in AU’s lawsuit challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs’ failure to produce similar records under the FOIA; that litigation is pending.
In addition to the federal lawsuits, AU attorneys sent letters to the State Department and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs urging each to “rescind any directives instructing employees to report on anti-Christian bias and to shut down any politically motivated investigations stemming from such reports.” The letters explain the problems with attempting to enforce Trump’s executive order, including that it’s a transparent attempt to favor “Christian employees and silence those who disagree.” Extending “preferential treatment” to one particular religion violates the Constitution and federal law.