Judicial Watch Sues Defense Department for Records on Deadly Abbey Gate Attack that Killed 13 American Troops During Biden Afghanistan Pull-Out

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense for information on the communications regarding the deaths of 13 American servicemen at “Abbey Gate” outside the Kabul airport during the withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 26, 2021 (Judicial Watch Inc. vs U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:24-cv-02598)).  

Judicial Watch sued after the Pentagon failed to respond to its September 2, 2021, request for:

Any and all records of communications, including emails, internal (Pentagon) communications systems, and cables, referencing “Abbey Gate” sent to and from the following officials: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Vice Chairman Gen. John E. Hyten. 

On August 26, 2021, two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. The attacks killed 13 U.S. troops: Marine Lance Cpl. David Lee Espinoza, Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, Marine Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, Marine Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, Navy Hospitalman Maxton “Max” Soviak, and Marine Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page. One hundred seventy civilians were also killed.

A report on the Afghanistan debacle released this week by Congress details some of the following failures behind the attack:

The failure to close Abbey Gate in spite of consistent threat warnings about an imminent attack. The intention behind this decision was magnanimous — getting innocent civilians to safety. But as a result, U.S. servicemembers were exposed to significant risk.

The reliance on the Taliban for security. Relying on a long-time, brutal enemy to provide security around the airport was fraught with problems from the very beginning. The Taliban long harbored violent intentions toward Americans and have expressed no regard for innocent human life. In addition, their security screening was inconsistent and haphazard. The Taliban also did not consistently assist the U.S. military with confronting known or suspected ISIS-K cells operating in the city, including the cell that would eventually carry out the attack.

The refusal of the U.S. military to conduct any direct attacks against ISIS-K inside Afghanistan for fear of upsetting the Taliban. Intelligence pointed to the ISIS-K cell behind the attack, but the U.S. military did not have the manpower and the Biden-Harris administration did not have the political will to conduct operations in and outside Kabul to neutralize it. Instead, the Biden-Harris administration relied on terrorists to capture other terrorists.

“For three long years, the Biden-Harris Pentagon has been unlawfully hiding records about the preventable deaths of 13 American servicemen at the infamous Abbey Gate,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “This cover-up is disgraceful and is just one more cruel act against the families of the fallen and other Americans who want the full truth about the deadly Biden-Harris Afghanistan debacle.” 

On July 20, 2024, Judicial Watch reported that at least $239 million has likely filled the coffers of the Taliban extremists running the Islamic republic.

In November 2023, Judicial Watch reported that the Taliban has established fraudulent non-governmental organizations (NGO) to loot the hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid that the United States has sent Afghanistan since the 2021 military withdrawal.

In November 2022, Judicial Watch reported that the Taliban is training and operating with U.S. military equipment including rifles, trucks, and helmets with night vision mounts since the Biden administration withdrew American troops from Afghanistan last year.

In December 2021, Judicial Watch sued the Department of State for records about the censorship of government reports about U.S. tax dollars spent on military support and equipment for Afghanistan, as well as records about payments to Afghanistan’s Government and/or any member of the Taliban related to the U.S. departure from Afghanistan. 

In November 2021, Judicial Watch received records from the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which show Special Inspector General John Sopko’s opposition to the Biden administration’s order to remove Internet access to hundreds of pages of public reports on the weaponry and training the U.S. provided to Afghan security forces.

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