Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia Monday approved the release of a controversial Trump administration report on policing reforms.  The Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice was unveiled in January, following an executive order by President Trump, and planned to deliver proposals to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Following a lawsuit filed by the NAACP, Judge Bates temporarily blocked the report’s release in early October. He found that the defendants violated FACA by failing to ensure balanced membership of the commission, to file a charter, to appoint a designated federal officer, and to provide timely notice of meetings in the Federal Register.

On Monday, Bates found that while the commission “certainly has not met FACA’s transparency and fair balance requirements,” a complete use injunction was unwarranted. The court’s declaratory judgment and disclaimer requirement would provide significant relief, so denying the injunction would not “render FACA a nullity.” Additionally, granting a use injunction would be wasteful because the commission had already used over $4 million towards its project and was a week away from completing it.

Bates also noted that the commission’s membership had been public from the beginning, as almost all hearings were attended by the press, and that transcripts were also available on the commission’s public website. Finally, he noted that barring the commission from publishing the report posed several first amendment challenges. Following the order, the DOJ may publish the report as long as it either complies with FACA or includes a disclaimer.