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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FOIA Friday: IRS 'Loses' Emails, Feds Cover-up Stingray Records, and More
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. THE IRS IS BAD AT KEEPING RECORDS, WHICH IS NOT TERRIBLY UNUSUAL Late last Friday, the IRS informed Congress that it had lost a significant amount of emails …
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Freedom of Information Act Rundown: Stingray Surveillance and FERPA abuse
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly FOIA newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. STINGRAYS Last week I mentioned a new, crowd-funded project by MuckRock to collect nationwide data on law enforcement surveillance of cell phones, particularly the use of "stingray" tracking technology. The stingray tech …
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These Are the 99 FOIA Requests Top Pentagon Officials Had to Approve
Ninety-Nine Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by journalists and researchers since last July were flagged by the Department of Defense (DOD) and had to receive “Department Level Clearance” before agencies within DOD could issue a response and/or responsive records. I obtained the latest so-called Department Level Interest list …
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Judge Orders FBI to Conduct New Search for Documents on Internet Activist Aaron Swartz
A federal court judge on Monday ordered the FBI to conduct a new search for documents on Aaron Swartz, the late Internet activist who was being aggressively prosecuted by the federal government for downloading millions of academic articles. Swartz committed suicide in January 2013 before his case had gone to …
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How the "Most Transparent Administration in History" Undercut FOIA and Covered Up Torture
The nonpartisan organization Cause of Action has a new report out for Sunshine Week, "Grading the Government: How the White House Targets Document Requesters." The report includes an April 15, 2009 email Cause of Action obtained last year from the Justice Department written by then White House counsel Greg Craig. …
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Government FOIA Officers Complain About House FOIA Reform Bill
The House last month, by an overwhelming majority, passed a bipartisan-sponsored Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reform bill that received strong support from more than two-dozen news organizations and public interest groups. But, as Federal News Radio reported this morning, government FOIA officers are now complaining that the legislation …
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Government Opposes Preservation Order in FOIA Lawsuit for CIA’s “Panetta Review”
At the center of the controversy between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the CIA is a report known as the “Panetta review” that apparently matches up with the findings and conclusions of the Senate panel’s own report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. Last December, after Sen. Mark Udall …
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Obama Administration Official Whitewashes Truth About FOIA
Last week, as she does every year around Sunshine Week, Melanie Pustay went to The Hill and testified before a congressional committee about how great government agencies haven been doing responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and providing requesters with responsive records. Pustay, the head of the Department …
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The Best of the Government's 'We Cannot Confirm Nor Deny' Claims
In a spectacular episode for history buffs and transparency nuts alike, Radiolab posted an episode yesterday that explores the Cold War roots of the Glomar “neither confirm nor deny” response to FOIA requests. Here are some of the most notable and bizarre Glomar responses that MuckRock users have received. Whether …
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FOIA Lawsuit No. 5: My Attempt to Access the Secret Report Claiming Snowden’s Leaks Could Damage National Security
Last month, Shane Harris published a report in Foreign Policy revealing that that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) prepared a report and concluded Edward Snowden’s leaks and the news reports on the top-secret documents he disclosed could “gravely impact” national security. The Foreign Policy report quoted House Intelligence Committee Chairman …
