Dear Friend of Press Freedom,
I’m Lauren Harper, the first Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), and welcome to “The Classifieds.” Read on to learn about this week’s top secrecy news.
Does DHS even know how to save its records anymore?
The Department of Homeland Security recently claimed four times within 48 hours that it had “no documents” when Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) asked for records. These responses, concerning everything from body camera footage to emails about prosecuting CNN for reporting on an ICE-tracking application, raise questions about whether the agency is saving its documents at all anymore, much less creating them in the first place.
Each of our Freedom of Information Act requests was for records likely to exist. And any single “no records” response would have been suspicious. But four in rapid succession? That’s enough to cast doubt on DHS for its record-keeping practices and its compliance with FOIA.
If DHS truly has no records of any of these requests, then the problem isn’t FOIA compliance; it’s governance. A federal agency that can’t show its work can’t be held accountable.
Remembering Dr. William Burr, nuclear scholar and declassification expert
Dr. William Burr, who recently passed away, spent decades fighting to compel the government to release its nuclear history documents. In addition to being a giant in the field of nuclear scholarship, he excelled in building relationships across the federal government that helped many better understand the government’s declassification efforts.
He leaves behind an unrivaled collection of declassified records, many of which are available on the National Security Archive’s Nuclear Vault website. A few of my favorites of Bill’s postings include:
- U.S. Cold War nuclear target lists declassified for first time
- Long-classified U.S. estimates of nuclear war casualties during the Cold War regularly underestimated deaths and destruction
- ‘We can bomb the bejesus out of them all over North Vietnam.’
His scholarship, his advocacy, and his friendship will all be missed.
FPF on NPR
This week I joined journalists Garance Burke and José Olivares, as well as the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Jake Laperruque, on NPR’s “1A” program to discuss the Trump administration’s expanding immigration surveillance activities, and how to fight for more transparency and accountability.
AMA on Reddit
FPF hosted a Reddit Ask Me Anything this week with Bloomberg’s Jason Leopold, American Oversight’s Liz Hempowicz, Free Information Group’s Kevin Bell, and myself to talk about FOIA, both historically and under the Trump administration. If you weren’t able to join, check out the conversation here.
What I'm Reading
Trump’s library plan: An ‘iconic building’ in Miami and a ‘fake news wing’
President Trump’s son Eric recently announced that he received approval to build a Trump Presidential Foundation building in Miami. Two things worth explicitly reiterating are that 1) when Trump took his presidential records to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his first term, he violated the Presidential Records Act, which he’s never been held to account for, and 2) while Trump doesn’t have to build a library or a museum at all, he must turn over his records to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of his term. Whether or not his Florida project includes a library or a museum, the official preservation of his records is very much in doubt.
Hegseth says he won’t release full boat strike video
In unsurprising news, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced, “Of course we’re not going to release a top secret, full, unedited video of that to the general public.” It’s an outrageous stance to take considering the likely illegality of the strikes and the administration’s incessant touting of the attacks across social media.
Transparently yours,
Lauren Harper
Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy
Freedom of the Press Foundation
