Judge orders DOD to turn over records from Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery incident
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Defense to turn over records related to former President Donald Trump’s controversial visit to Arlington National Cemetery – meaning the public could soon see the incident report concerning an alleged altercation between Trump campaign officials and a cemetery employee.
American Oversight, a watchdog group filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit against DOD to obtain the incident report of the alleged Aug. 26 incident involving a member of Trump’s campaign and the cemetery staff member.
ABC News has previously reported that there was a physical and verbal altercation between a Trump campaign official and a staff member attempting to enforce federal law prohibiting campaigning at the cemetery.
Trump’s aides filmed a campaign video in a section of the cemetery where recently fallen service members are buried.
In September, ABC News reported law enforcement officials at a Virginia military base were still investigating the incident even after the Army said it considered the matter closed, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
In the days following the incident, the Army defended the cemetery staffer, saying the person had been “unfairly attacked.”
As part of the probe led by the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Police Department, an investigator with the base’s police department had sought to contact Trump campaign officials about the incident, the sources said.
Trump’s campaign insisted its aides acted appropriately and promised to release video they said would exonerate its staff. That video has not been released.
Trump, accompanied by some military family members, was visiting the graves of service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport during the chaotic withdrawal of Afghanistan — something he has made a campaign issue.
Senior Judge Paul Friedman agreed with American Oversight that the records were pertinent to the public and ordered them released by Oct. 25.
“With the election just two weeks away, the American people have a clear and compelling interest in knowing how the government responded to an alleged incident involving a major presidential candidate who has a history of politicizing the military,” Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight Interim Executive Director said in a statement.
“These records belong to the public, and we’re pleased the court agreed on the need to expedite our request. We look forward to receiving the incident report and making it available to the public,” he said.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Luis Martinez and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
