CNN versus FBI: Networks file lawsuit demanding release of James Comey's memos

Former FBI director James Comey's decision to document his interactions with President Donald Trump, and the memos he kept of their meetings, were at the centre of his recent senate testimony. Now, news networks are keen to get their hands on the actual accounts and are willing to go to court for the same.

CNN and USA Today have filed lawsuits against the Federal Bureau of Investigation demanding the release of Comey's memos after the agency refused to make the information public, voluntarily.

"Despite high public interest in the content of the memos, Comey's testimony that the records are not classified and a ruling from the Justice Department that the FBI should expedite CNN's FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request for the memos, the FBI has not provided either the documents or a reason to withhold them," the case documents that were filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, stated.

The president's alleged request that Comey drop the FBI's investigation into his campaign's ties to Russia have brought into question Trump's trustworthiness. A recent poll even suggested that 68% of the American public believe the Potus tried to interfere in the Russia investigation.

CNN has called on the court to allow for the release of the documents "unredacted, and without further delay". The FBI has not commented on the lawsuit as of yet and according to Comey, copies of the memo have been transferred to special counsel Robert Mueller.

News of Comey's memos were made public by The New York Times after they were given details from the former FBI director's friend, Columbia University professor Daniel Richman. Comey testified to providing one of the documents to him for the purpose of it being shared with the media in the hopes the news would "prompt the appointment of a special counsel".