US Court Rejects Greenspan’s Bid To Seek Discovery Against Tinubu

A United States District Court for the District of Columbia has rejected a request by Aaron Greenspan seeking permission to obtain evidence from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and US public affairs firm, DCI Group, in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.

The court, in a ruling delivered on October 30, 2026, denied Greenspan’s application for limited discovery concerning alleged cyberattacks on his website, ruling that the proposed inquiry was not sufficiently relevant to the underlying FOIA dispute involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The ruling represents a setback for Greenspan’s attempt to expand the scope of the litigation to investigate the alleged cyberattacks through discovery involving Tinubu and DCI Group.

Greenspan had filed the discovery application on September 9, seeking permission to pursue the matter against Tinubu and DCI Group in connection with his ongoing legal battle for access to records held by US federal agencies.

However, the court maintained that the proposed discovery was not sufficiently connected to the legal questions before it in the FOIA proceedings.

Reacting to the decision, attorney Christopher W. Carmichael said the ruling reinforced the importance of keeping the litigation focused on the issues properly before the court.

“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 request against Tinubu and DCI Group underscored the procedural boundaries governing the case.

The court also rejected a separate application by non-party Karl Von Batten seeking permission to file an amicus curiae brief, as well as Greenspan’s related request for judicial notice.

Additionally, the judge denied Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment.

In a separate aspect of the ruling, the court granted in part and denied in part the FBI’s cross-motion for summary judgment, while also addressing issues relating to the government’s handling and withholding of records sought under FOIA.

Attorney Oluwole Afolabi said the decisions established important procedural boundaries in the ongoing litigation.

“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,” Afolabi said.

The case, Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2023.

The underlying dispute concerns Greenspan’s efforts to obtain historical investigative records from US federal agencies, including the FBI and DEA.