A judge has rebuked the University of Delaware for not making a robust attempt to satisfy a public records request for the school’s stash of President Biden’s Senate records.
Judge Mary M. Johnston of the Superior Court of Delaware said the school didn’t show it thoroughly searched for Biden records sought in a lawsuit by conservative groups, and she ordered the school to show its work.
She gave the school 45 days to report back to the court with additional details.
The 7-page order issued on June 7 said the university must provide an affidavit detailing which school official did the records search for the groups’ request, what documents were searched, and whether tax dollars were spent or salaries paid in connection with the Senate papers.
Mr. Biden gave the university his senatorial papers as a gift in 2012, which included 1,850 boxes and hundreds of electronic records, Newsweek reported.
Peter Bothum, media relations manager at the University of Delaware, said the university is working to provide the requested information to the court as directed by the judge.
It has been a two-year legal battle between the university and two conservative groups, government watchdog Judicial Watch and the news site Daily Caller News Foundation, which are seeking the records that span Mr. Biden’s nearly 40 years in the Senate.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said the documents are relevant to examine allegations of sexual assault by Mr. Biden’s former staffer Tara Reid and allegations of influence-peddling in connection with Mr. Biden’s son Hunter Biden and foreign interests.
“What he was up to as senator is going to inform us about what he is doing and what he wants to do as president,” Mr. Fitton told The Washington Times. “Why was this public university working with this political operation, hiding records to protect then-candidate and now President Biden?”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.