The New York Police Department was sued Thursday for refusing to disclose the handgun license applications submitted by President Trump and his two adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
The Daily Dot, a news and opinion site largely devoted to internet culture, sued the NYPD in Manhattan federal court in hopes of compelling the release of documents involving the Trump family’s handgun permits after its previous records requests were rejected by law enforcement.
“Respondents’ refusal to grant Daily Dot access to the Trumps’ handgun license applications violates the Freedom of Information Law and the strong policy of open government that underlies the law,” attorneys for the website wrote in their nine-page petition.
“Respondents’ failure to fulfill their public disclosure obligations has stifled public knowledge of matters of great public interest regarding the president and his sons (who are also his advisors on gun-related issues), their applications for and ownership of guns, and hand gun licensing practices in New York City in general,” the attorneys added. “Such secrecy benefits no one and erodes public trust in government. The documents should be disclosed.”
The New York City Law Department “will review the lawsuit,” a spokesman told The Washington Times on Friday.
The president and his two oldest sons both hold handgun permits in New York City, according to the lawsuit. The Daily Dot filed a request in January with the NYPD’s records office seeking related documents under the state’s sunshine law, but officials said it constituted an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy and refused to comply. The Daily Dot subsequently filed a renewed record request in February, then filed suit after the NYPD claimed that disclosure of the applications “would endanger the life or safety of the applicant.”
“None of the grounds for nondisclosure cited by the NYPD apply,” wrote The Daily Dot’s attorneys. “Disclosure of the information sought by The Daily Dot would not constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of President Trump or his sons. Nor would disclosure of the requested information endanger the life or safety of any person.”
“It is not conceivable that President Trump, Donald Jr., and/or Eric’s lives would be endangered or that they would be harassed because of the disclosure of the requested records,” they added.
The president told The Times in 2012 that he owns both a .45 caliber Heckler & Koch sidearm and a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver.
“The way I view it, if nobody has guns, then only the bad guys have them. And they aren’t giving up their guns,” Mr. Trump said at the time.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.