Biden’s legacy: Leaving FOIA in shambles
AP Illustration
The Freedom of Information Act gives the public a right to access government records.
The Freedom of Information Act is supposed to shed light on government activity by giving journalists and the public access to government records. But the law is in shambles. From endless delays in response time and unjustified refusals to ridiculously overbroad redactions, FOIA is plagued with problems.
We must fight back against the government’s refusal to comply with FOIA and urge Congress to reform the law and end backlogs of requests, reduce the number of exemptions, and overturn damaging court decisions.
Featured Items
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Obama’s Justice Department secretly helped kill the FOIA transparency bill that was based on its own policy
We’ve long known the Justice Department’s stance on transparency has been hypocritical and disingenuous. But they’ve really outdone themselves this time. Last week, the agency secretly helped kill a bipartisan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reform bill that was based word-for-word on its own policy. First, a little background: In …
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Why aren't more news outlets covering Sen. Rockefeller's shameful attempt to kill FOIA reform?
An uncontroverisal, mild Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reform bill may die on Monday, despite passing 410-0 in the House earlier this year, and with a similar bipartisan vote expected in the Senate. The bill had already been stripped of its most substantive provisions that government agencies objected to, …
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Transparency bill on the verge of passing is being blocked by Sen. Rockefeller
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. FOIA Reform The FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 is on the verge of passing. One senator away, in fact. As of Friday, only Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.V.) …
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This Week in Transparency: FOIA reform passes Senate Judiciary Committee
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. FOIA REFORM The Senate Judiciary committee reported the FOIA Improvements Act of 2014 to the full Senate by a unanimous vote last week. More than 70 transparency and …
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FOIA Rundown: Reform bill delayed, lethal injection secrecy, and more
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. FOIA Reform The Senate Judiciary Committee pushed back a hearing on the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014, where it was expected to vote on the bill and advance …
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This Week in Transparency: Court gives NYPD Glomar powers and more
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. "Information is the currency of power." — Barton Gellman, author and journalist NYPD gets itself a Glomar doctrine The New York Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against the …
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FOIA Rundown: Ferguson's ongoing stonewall, majority favors release of CIA torture report, and more
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Ferguson's ongoing stonewall The AP's Jack Gillum reports that Ferguson officials are using the tried and true method of charging exorbitant fees to discourage news orgs and individuals …
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This Week in Transparency: Holder's legacy, Stingrays, and more
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Holder resigns: You probably heard the news that Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation yesterday. Holder will leave behind a historic legacy on many issues, but unfortunately …
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This Week in Transparency: AP counts the ways Obama admin blocks info
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. The most transparent administration in history, an ongoing series At a three-day convention of the American Society of News Editors, the Associated Press Media Editors and the Associated …
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This Week in Transparency: Shenanigans at the CIA, open-source FOIA reform, and more
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Footnote of the Year from the Supreme Court of Texas: Page five, footnote seven of this decision ...
