Several news outlets are asking a Butler County judge to overturn the denial of their requests made under the state Right-to-Know Law for recordings of county 911 calls from former President Donald Trump’s July 13 campaign rally.

NBC News, Scripps News and The Intercept filed nearly identical petitions Monday in Common Pleas Court seeking judicial reviews of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records’ denials that were issued in August.

“This is simply part of a process, in particular because of the ongoing investigation,” said Leslie Osche, chairwoman of the county commissioners. “Our solicitor will act as necessary on our behalf, and we will await the court's ruling.”

The news organizations filed records requests with the county in July. The county denied the requests, saying recordings of 911 calls are generally exempt from disclosure under the Right-to-Know Law, the county has a policy to release 911 recordings under a court order or subpoena only, and the recordings have become the subject of law enforcement investigation into the shootings at the rally, according to the petitions.

The organizations appealed to the Open Records Office, saying the public interest in the shootings at the rally outweighs the county’s interest in nondisclosure.

The office upheld the county’s denials in August. According to the petitions, the office’s denials state that the organizations made compelling arguments about the heightened public interest in the recordings, but the law vests the county or the courts with deciding whether to release the recordings, and does not permit the office from overruling that authority.

In their petitions, the organizations argue that the public interest in disclosure outweighs any interest in nondisclosure, the recordings are not subject to the criminal investigation exemption in the Right-to-Know Law, the county’s refusal to exercise discretion to release the recordings is an abnegation of duty constituting bad faith under the law, and the Open Records Office erred by ruling that it could not review the county’s refusal to exercise discretion.

The petitions ask the court to reverse the Open Records Office decision, rule that public interest in the recordings outweighs any interest in nondisclosure, find that the county can’t apply the criminal investigation exemption, rule that the Open Records Office has the authority to review the county’s refusal to exercise discretion in future cases, and find that the county’s refusal is an abnegation of its legal duty. The petitions also seek recovery of attorney fees and costs.

The case has been assigned to Judge Kelley Streib.

The Butler Eagle has also requested the 911 call records.