Rudy Giuliani speaks at a Federalist Society convention in Washington in 2007. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

A federal judge on Wednesday said he wants the State Department to produce certain documents on Ukraine, including communications between President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and State Department officials, to a watchdog group within 30 days.

American Oversight filed an open records request about five months ago for State Department communications with Giuliani, or about any efforts by him in relation to Ukraine. They sued the department earlier this month and later requested a preliminary injunction for production of the documents.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of Columbia said at a hearing Wednesday that he is "generally skeptical" of granting preliminary injunctions in Freedom of Information Act cases and noted that the State Department already put the request on an expedited track.

Cooper did say he recognized the documents are of "critical importance." He instructed American Oversight and the State Department to work together to find a way to search, process and produce requested documents within the next 30 days.

Cooper said he would issue a minute order further clarifying deadlines in the case.

The group is also seeking documents about the recall of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who testified before House committees earlier this month.

The FOIA litigation may be the best chance for the public and members of Congress to view the documents, as the Trump administration has refused to comply with congressional subpoenas for similar documents under the scope of its impeachment inquiry.

The House is investigating allegations that Trump ordered that military aid be withheld from Ukraine until the nation's leaders committed to investigating the Bidens. American Oversight cited the speed of the impeachment inquiry in arguing that the documents have to be produced quickly, otherwise members of the public may not get to see them until after impeachment proceedings are over.

Giuliani, who is at the heart of that investigation, has refused to comply with a House subpoena for related documents.

It's unclear how many of the documents initially requested by the watchdog group will ultimately be made public. Daniel McGrath, counsel with American Oversight, said the group is willing to narrow down the initial request to make sure any responsive documents can be handed over.

He said American Oversight wants the documents so the information can be shared with Americans, who in turn can lobby their members of Congress about what action they want seen taken in the impeachment inquiry.

Whatever documents are produced is certain to be redacted, as they are subject to certain exemptions under FOIA. McGrath said in court Wednesday that American Oversight believes that Giuliani's communications are unlikely to be subject to many redactions, if any, because Giuliani is a private citizen and not a State Department employee.

Cooper asked Justice Department lawyer Joshua Abbuhl if he agreed that the Giuliani documents would be public under FOIA, with the judge saying he "can't think of an exemption" that would apply to the third-party communications.

Abbuhl declined to answer, saying that he has not seen the documents and did not know if that was the case.

But he did agree with the judge that other requested documents, like diplomatic cables, are typically classified and therefore not subject to release.

Attorneys in the hearing also acknowledge that there is a wide range of other ongoing FOIA litigation tied to the Ukraine inquiry, including another lawsuit filed by American Oversight playing out before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District of Columbia. Abbuhl said the State Department has received about 60 requests for information on Ukraine and is handling about six other related court cases.

Abbuhl also said that the State Department's FOIA division is currently handling a significant number of documents in relation to requests for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails. He said that five FOIA reviewers are currently going through those document.

What remains unclear after Wednesday's hearing is whether the State Department even began to respond to congressional subpoenas for information as part of the impeachment inquiry.

While certain current and former agency officials have appeared for depositions in the House, federal agencies have generally declined to provide the subpoenaed documents.

DOJ attorney Elizabeth Shapiro told Cooper on Wednesday that the parts of the department that respond to FOIA requests and to congressional subpoenas are kept separate.

She said that, because of that separation, "we would suggest that the court not take into account what happens on the subpoena front."

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