Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM.
New public records lawsuits, including one for information about the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, are testing a recent concurring opinion from a D.C. federal appeals judge on the right to access congressional records.
Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in June issued a concurring opinion in a Judicial Watch lawsuit seeking subpoenas from the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry into then-President Donald Trump. While the panel agreed the Speech and Debate Clause barred the release of the subpoenas, Henderson said she believed not all congressional records are automatically protected from disclosure.
