Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch sued Donald Trump to obtain records related to the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting.

Posted by The MeidasTouch Podcast, Sep 15, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictFalse

Sources: 2 contradict1 support1 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 80%

The MeidasTouch PodcastSep 15, 2026

The sources show Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Justice in 2025 under the Freedom of Information Act over FBI records on the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting, not Donald Trump. The records-lawsuit part of the claim holds, but the named defendant is wrong, which changes what the claim describes.

We could not find who says this in the episode. Shown here; not scored.

What we found

Contradicts. USA Today reports that Judicial Watch sued the Department of Justice in July 2025 in D.C. federal court over its denied FOIA request for records on the 2024 Trump assassination attempt. The defendant was the DOJ, not Trump.[1]

Contradicts. Yahoo/Fox News Digital reports that Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Justice in 2025 after the FBI rejected its July 2024 FOIA request about the Butler rally investigation.[2]

Supports. Judicial Watch's own 2024 statement shows it filed a FOIA request for FBI records on coordination with the Secret Service for the July 13 Butler, PA rally, and the FBI withheld information. This supports the records-related part of the claim.[3]

Context. The FBI publicly disputed Fitton's characterization of the records release as 'slow rolling,' per Mediaite's 2026 report. This is context and does not bear on the defendant question.[4]