Watchdog Sues State Department to Force Release of Docs on Van Hollen El Salvador Junket to Aid MS-13er
Mark Tapscott
July 29, 2025
Judicial Watch is asking a federal court to order the U.S. Department of State to turn over all official documents concerning Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen’s (Md.) recent trip to El Salvador to aid deported illegal immigrant and accused MS-13 gang member and human trafficker Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the nonprofit government watchdog told the court that on April 22, 2025, it filed a request with the State Department for “any and all records concerning, regarding, or relating to the April 2025 visit to El Salvador by Senator Chris Van Hollen. This request includes, but is not limited to, all related agendas, briefing materials, and records of communications.”
The State Department acknowledged receiving the Judicial Watch FOIA request and assigning it a processing number. In a May 29, 2025 email, the government told Judicial Watch that its Van Hollen request was “In Process.” But then just four minutes after sending the “In Process” email, Judicial Watch received another email from the State Department saying its request processing was “closed.”
Judicial Watch told the court that it “has received no further communication from the State Department regarding the request” since the “closed” email.
https://washingtonstand.com/news/watchdog-sues-state-department-to-force-release-of-docs-on-van-hollen-el-salvador-junket-to-aid-ms13er
