Feds Don’t Have to Search for More Informant Data

WASHINGTON (CN) - The Department of Justice does not have to share its reports on a missing FBI informant, a federal judge ruled, rejecting the claims under the Freedom of Information Act by the informant's brother.

Julian White filed suit after the FBI failed to release information regarding a criminal case that resulted in the conviction of at least one defendant. Before he disappeared, White's brother Moses White had assisted the FBI New Orleans and New York field divisions with the investigation.

The Executive Office for United States Attorneys said it could not find records that were responsive to White's request.

Noting that White never identified the defendant in his letter request, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled last week that the search was adequately performed.

"Plaintiff did not identify who the 'defendant' might be," she wrote. "The only names provided in the request were for Mr. White's, and the prosecutor's."

Judge Kollar-Kotelly denied White's motion for summary judgment and closed the case.

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