Former Irish swimming coach George Gibney
Further to yesterday’s post about how the US attorney’s office and American journalist Irvin Muchnick’s attorney Roy Gordet both asked US District Judge Charles Breyer to issue his final and binding order – in relation to Mr Muchnick’s efforts to obtain 20 documents, or 43 pages, of former Irish swimming coach George Gibney’s US immigration file…
Readers will recall how all previous requests by Mr Muchnick yielded only parts of this file with some pages redacted.
Gibney was charged with 27 counts of indecency against young swimmers and of carnal knowledge of girls under the age of 15 in April, 1993 – but sought and won a High Court judicial review in 1994 that quashed all the charges against him.
The judicial review was secured following a landmark Supreme Court decision – after which Gibney left Ireland for Scotland and then Florida.
Further to this…
This morning, Irvin Muchnick writes:
US District Court Judge Charles Breyer has issued a final order in Concussion Inc.’s favour in Muchnick v. Department of Homeland Security – our Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for hitherto redacted United States Citizenship and Immigration Services files on the visa history of former Irish Olympic swimming head coach George Gibney.
The court’s action came a mere 24 hours after the federal government informed Judge Breyer that it had decided not to take up his suggestion, in a tentative order on November 2, to release certain portions of the remaining disputed 20 documents covering 43 pages.
As noted here yesterday, the next legal step is the government’s decision on whether to comply with the order or appeal it to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Breyer’s new 10-page order is virtually identical to the 11-page one last month, which can be viewed here. The only difference is in the conclusion language, which reflects the shift from “tentative” to “final.” Here is the language:
“DHS is ORDERED to disclose substantive information contained in the A-File about Gibney’s alleged crimes, decisions about immigration benefits he sought, and the dates any documents containing such information were created.
“DHS may continue to withhold identifying information about third parties other than Gibney, as well as Gibney’s past addresses, salary history, A-number, and the like. It may also continue to withhold portions of documents revealing the investigative procedures used to obtain information about Gibney, but not the information itself.
“Based on the foregoing, DHS has properly redacted or withheld some documents but not others. The Court has separated those two categories and highlighted what DHS must disclose to comply with this order.”
Previously: Bringing The Truth Home
The Chief Justice, Her Brother And How George Gibney Got Away
