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A United States federal court has rejected an application by Aaron Greenspan seeking permission to obtain limited evidence from President Bola Tinubu and DCI Group in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit involving American federal law enforcement agencies.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia delivered the ruling on October 30, 2026.
The court held that Greenspan’s proposed discovery concerning alleged cyberattacks on his website was not sufficiently relevant to the underlying dispute involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The decision prevents Greenspan from using the ongoing FOIA proceedings to obtain the requested evidence from Tinubu and DCI Group.
Lawyer Reacts To Court Decision
Reacting to the ruling, attorney Christopher W. Carmichael said the decision reinforced the need to keep the proceedings focused on legal issues directly connected to the FOIA lawsuit.
He argued that the court had made clear that the litigation could not serve as a platform for pursuing evidence on unrelated matters.
“The Court’s decision makes clear that this Freedom of Information Act proceeding cannot be used to pursue discovery unrelated to the legal questions before it,” Carmichael said.
He added that the rejection of the application involving Tinubu and DCI Group highlighted the importance of maintaining the proper scope of the litigation.
Court Rejects Additional Applications
The court also rejected a separate application by non-party Karl Von Batten, who had sought permission to submit an amicus curiae brief.
An amicus curiae brief is a legal submission by an individual or organisation that is not directly involved in a case but seeks to provide information or arguments to assist the court.
Additionally, the judge declined Greenspan’s related request for judicial notice, which sought formal recognition of certain matters without the usual process of proving them.
The court also rejected Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment, another application filed during the proceedings.
Afolabi Explains Implications Of Ruling
Attorney Oluwole Afolabi said the decisions established procedural boundaries for the lawsuit without resolving the underlying FOIA dispute.
According to him, the rejected applications clarified which matters the court considered appropriate for determination within the proceedings.
“The Court also denied the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and rejected a separate request to introduce an amicus brief,” Afolabi said.
“While the underlying FOIA issues remain before the Court, these rulings establish important procedural boundaries and clarify which matters are appropriate for consideration in this litigation.”
The latest ruling concerns the scope of evidence and applications permitted in the FOIA lawsuit involving the FBI and DEA.
However, the substantive issues surrounding the information Greenspan is seeking from the federal agencies remain before the court.
