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Strengthen the Freedom of Information Act

A photo illustration of documents gathered during an AP investigation - AP21166836655820

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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    NSA Claims No Audio, Transcripts or Notes From Official's Interview With Gellman, But Assertion Appears to Be Untrue

    FOIA•Article

    <!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- DV.load("//www.documentcloud.org/documents/797986-nsa-response-to-leopold-foia-for-interview-audio.js", { width: 600, height: 600, sidebar: false, text: false, pdf: false, container: "#DV-viewer-797986-nsa-response-to-leopold-foia-for-interview-audio" }); //--><!]]> Last month, Barton Gellman published an explosive story in the Washington Post about the NSA's widespread privacy violations, based on documents he obtained from whistleblower Edward Snowden.  Gellman also wrote a companion …

    Jason Leopold
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    DHS Dumps 1,400 Pages of Heavily Redacted Records Related to Agency's Role in Drafting 2012 Counterterrorism Guidelines

    Surveillance•Article

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) just released 1,400 pages of emails and other internal records concerning the agency’s role in advising the Department of Justice and Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on changes made to the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) guidelines used to collect and retain data …

    Jason Leopold
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    Journalist Files FOIA Lawsuit Against Justice Dept For Copy of Senate's CIA Torture Report

    FOIA•Article

    <!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- DV.load("//www.documentcloud.org/documents/782493-leopold-foia-lawsuit-against-justice-department.js", { width: 600, height: 600, sidebar: false, text: false, pdf: false, container: "#DV-viewer-782493-leopold-foia-lawsuit-against-justice-department" }); //--><!]]> Late Monday evening, I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Justice to obtain a copy of the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on …

    Jason Leopold
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    Here's What the White House's "Secret" Plan to Close Guantanamo Looks Like

    Secrecy•Article

    <!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- DV.load("//www.documentcloud.org/documents/777815-white-house-plan-to-close-guantanamo.js", { width: 600, height: 600, sidebar: false, text: false, pdf: false, container: "#DV-viewer-777815-white-house-plan-to-close-guantanamo" }); //--><!]]> Last month, hours before a Senate subcommittee held a hearing on shuttering the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, the White House circulated a two-page document to Congress that contained the administration's plans for …

    Jason Leopold

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Photo Credit: Rainmaker Photo/MediaPunch/IPX via AP