The DoJ fighting public release of information is something that has been standard operating procedure for a very long time, the Obama administration has fought this tooth and nail against the public release of information, but this is different, because the DoJ is simply refusing to comply.

There has been no request for an appeal or injunction, they are just refusing to follow a judge’s orders:

Federal prosecutors on Friday declined to make public transcripts of recorded conversations between Michael Flynn and Russia’s ambassador to the United States in December 2016, despite a judge’s order.

In a court filing Friday, the Justice Department wrote that it did not rely on such recordings to establish Flynn’s guilt or determine a recommendation for his sentencing.

Prosecutors also failed to release an unredacted version of portions of the Mueller report related to Flynn that the judge had ordered be made public.

………

The government’s unusual response came after U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in Washington ordered earlier in May that the Justice Department make public various materials related to the case, including transcripts of any audio recordings of Flynn, such as his conversations with Russian officials.

………

Sullivan made clear he wanted the full transcript of Flynn’s calls to be shared with the public, although he did not provide his reasoning. The Justice Department’s response appeared to duck that order.

There are any number of ways that the DoJ could delay the release of this information.

Just telling a judge to go pound sand is a remarkably lawless, even by the standards of the US State Security Apparatus.