(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Intercept, Scripps News and NBC News have all sued Butler County for refusing to release 911 recordings from the July 13 rally in which former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated.
Butler County had denied all three outlets’ requests for the 911 calls on the grounds that Pennsylvanian public records statute that generally exempts 911 recordings from disclosure. However, Pennsylvania law also states that police can release 911 recordings that are in the public interest.
The media outlets’ lawsuit argues that the 911 calls are obviously in the public interest, and that the Butler Office of Open Records should have ordered them for disclosure.
“It is difficult to fathom a case where the public interest in disclosure is more obvious, given the political, historical, and national significance of this assassination attempt,” The Intercept’s court petition stated.
The Intercept Sues to Release 911 Recordings From Trump Rally Shooting https://t.co/XDyBBrr1bQ by @ShawnMusgrave https://t.co/XDyBBrr1bQ
— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2024
“The voting public, regardless of political affiliation, has a keen interest in learning more about the events that transpired at the Butler rally and the government’s response to the same.”
Headline USA faces a similar issue in its quest to obtain a recording of the 911 call Thomas Crooks’s parents made on the day he allegedly tried to kill Trump.
Bethel Police denied the request on Aug. 21, citing Section 708(b)(18) of the Right to Know Law, which exempts 911 recordings from public disclosure. However, the exact same RTKL paragraph cited by Bethel Police includes the public-interest clause.
Headline USA appealed the denial to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, and made the argument to Appeals Officer Kathleen Higgins that it’s in the public interest to release the parents’ phone call.
Surprisingly, Bethel Park Police nor Alleghany County didn’t make any submissions before the appeals deadline last Thursday. But after Headline USA wrote an article on the matter Monday, Bethel Park made an appearance and asked for a deadline extension to respond—which was granted, despite the fact that the deadline already passed.
Bethel Park Police signaled that they will make a similar argument that Butler County invoked against The Intercept: “Specifically, the Department believes that the appeal should be denied because the requester is seeking a 911 recording and, to the extent it exists, the OOR is without authority to compel the Department to exercise its discretion in favor of disclosure,” the department said in a Tuesday filing.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
