Case 1:18-mc-00041-ABJ Document 18 Filed 10/09/18 Page 1 of 4

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
____________________________________
)
IN THE MATTER OF THE
)
APPLICATION OF THE
)
ASSOCIATED PRESS; CABLE
)
NEWS NETWORK, INC.; THE NEW
)
YORK TIMES CO.; POLITICO LLC;
)
Misc. Action No. 18-0041 (ABJ)
AND WP CO., LLC, d/b/a THE
)
WASHINGTON POST FOR ACCESS
)
TO CERTAIN SEALED
)
COURT RECORDS
)
____________________________________)
FINAL ORDER
A coalition of media organizations has filed a motion to obtain access to court documents
filed under seal and generated in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation being
conducted by the Office of Special Counsel. This order addresses the remaining documents at
issue in this matter. For the reasons set forth below, and in the orders of July 9, 2018 [Dkt. # 14]
(“July 9 Order”) and August 10, 2018 [Dkt. # 16] (“Aug. 10 Order”), it is ORDERED that the
coalition’s motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.
The coalition seeks access to the sealed information contained in documents relating to the
following search warrants obtained as part of the government’s investigation and prosecution of
United States v. Manafort, No. 17-cr-201:
Search Warrant

Case No.

In the Matter of the Search of Information
Associated With [Two Email Accounts]

17-mj-0612

In the Matter of the Search of Hard Drive
with Serial Number WXB1AA006666

17-mj-0496

In the Matter of the Seizure of
Funds from Accounts at [Bank]

17-mj-0783

1

 Case 1:18-mc-00041-ABJ Document 18 Filed 10/09/18 Page 2 of 4

In the Matter of the Seizure of
Funds from Accounts at [Bank]

17-mj-0784

In the Matter of the Seizure of
Funds from Accounts at [Bank]

17-mj-0785

In the Matter of the Search of Information
Associated with [Email Account]

17-mj-0611

In the Matter of the Search of Information Associated with
Five Telephone Numbers Controlled by AT&T

18-sc-0609

In the Matter of the Search of Information Associated with
[Email Account] Stored at Premises Controlled by Apple

17-sc-1042

In the Matter of the Search of the [Residence]
Alexandria, Virginia 20815

17-sw-0449

In the Matter of the Search of the [Storage Unit]

17-sw-0249

The Court has reviewed fully unredacted versions of them all.
On July 9, 2018, the Court denied the coalition’s motion with respect to the two warrants 1
for the reasons stated in a May 29, 2018 ruling in the criminal case, Order [Dkt. # 312], United States
v. Manafort, No. 17-cr-201 (D.D.C. May 29, 2018), and given the ongoing nature of the criminal
proceedings at that time. See July 9 Order at 2. The Court then ordered the government and

Manafort to inform the Court whether any sealed information in the other warrant materials had
been made public during Mr. Manafort’s trial in the Eastern District of Virginia and could now be
unsealed. See Aug. 10 Order at 2–3. In response, on August 30, 2018, the government docketed
revised versions of five of the warrant applications with fewer redactions. See Notice [Dkt. # 17]

1
In the Matter of the Search of Information Associated with [Email Account], No. 17-mj0611, and In the Matter of the Search of Information Associated with Five Telephone Numbers
Controlled by AT&T, No. 18-sc-0609.
2

 Case 1:18-mc-00041-ABJ Document 18 Filed 10/09/18 Page 3 of 4

and its attachments [Dkt. ## 17-1 through 17-5]. 2 The Court’s review of the unredacted documents
reveals that the information that remains under seal in these materials includes the private
information of non-parties, financial information, and non-public information concerning the
government’s ongoing criminal investigation. Therefore, the coalition’s motion will be denied
with respect to any remaining redactions in the five warrant applications docketed on August 30,
2018.
With respect to the affidavits in support of the last three search warrants listed above, which
relate to the email account stored at premises controlled by Apple, Manafort’s Alexandria
residence, and a storage unit, the government filed a version of the warrant materials for the search
of the residence with fewer redactions on July 9, 2018, but it did not do so for the other two
warrants. See Notice of Submission [Dkt. # 340], United States v. Manafort, No. 17-cr-201
(D.D.C. July 9, 2018). Pursuant to the August 10 Order, the government notified the Court on
August 30, 2018 that neither the warrant for the residence nor the storage unit had been unsealed
by the court in the Eastern District of Virginia, and that even Manafort had only received redacted
versions of the materials. See Notice [Dkt. # 17] at 1. The Court finds that the information that
remains under seal in these three search warrants includes the private information of non-parties,
financial information, and non-public information concerning the government’s ongoing criminal
investigation. Therefore, the coalition’s motion with respect to any remaining redactions in these
materials is also hereby denied.

2
In the Matter of the Search of Information Associated With [Two Email Accounts],
No. 17-mj-0612; In the Matter of the Search of Hard Drive with Serial Number WXB1AA006666,
No. 17-mj-0496; In the Matter of the Seizure of Funds from Accounts at [Bank], No. 17-mj-0783;
In the Matter of the Seizure of Funds from Accounts at [Bank], No. 17-mj-0784; In the Matter of
the Seizure of Funds from Accounts at [Bank], No. 17-mj-0785.
3

 Case 1:18-mc-00041-ABJ Document 18 Filed 10/09/18 Page 4 of 4

As for exhibit 2 attached to defendant Richard W. Gates III’s motion for leave to file under
seal, [Dkt. # 166-2], filed in United States v. Manafort, No. 17-cr-201 (D.D.C. Feb. 6, 2018),
defendant Gates has stated that he does not object to the unsealing of the exhibit. Def. Gate’s
Resp. to the Court’s Oct. 2, 2018 Minute Order [Dkt. # 440], United States v. Manafort, No.
17-cr-201 (D.D.C. Oct. 4, 2018). Accordingly, the Clerk of Court is directed to unseal [Dkt.
# 166-2], exhibit 2 to the motion for leave to file under seal. A copy of this order will be filed in
United States v. Manafort, No. 17-cr-0201, to facilitate compliance with this order.
The order completes the Court’s consideration of all of the requests in the media coalition’s
motion as it was narrowed pursuant to the order of May 25, 2018 [Dkt. # 10]. For the reasons
stated above and in the Court’s orders dated July 9, 2018 [Dkt. # 14] and August 10, 2018 [Dkt.
# 16], the coalition’s motion has been, or is now, is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.
This is a final appealable order.

AMY BERMAN JACKSON
United States District Judge
DATE: October 9, 2018

4