Reform Government Secrecy

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A pile of classified redacted documents — AI-generated image

The U.S. classifies far too many secrets, obstructing democracy.

Excessive government secrecy takes many forms, from agencies needlessly claiming documents are classified to ignoring information requests and destroying records — even when the documents show government fraud or illegal conduct. This hinders a free press, effective oversight, and the public’s ability to self govern.

We need to fight for systemic improvements, and we need the press to vigorously question the government every time it says something is classified.

Tell Congress to support the Presidential Records Act

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Edit this message so that it is unique to you: Dear [Senator/Representative], As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to ISSUE A STATEMENT explicitly reaffirming that the Presidential Records Act is constitutional and that any claims to the contrary are not lawful and threaten our democracy. This is necessary in response to the Department of Justice’s recent memo claiming the PRA is unconstitutional, arguing that a president’s records are private property. This is wrong and flips 50 years of transparency on its head. The law has required every president since Ronald Reagan to turn their records over to the government at the end of their term. This ensures that the “American story” belongs to the public, not just those who inhabit the White House. This transparency provided vital insights into Democratic and Republican administrations alike, on topics ranging from the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal and the George W. Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. If this DOJ memo stands, every future president, Democrat or Republican, will operate in total darkness. This is a bipartisan emergency. I am asking you to PLEASE SPEAK OUT and use your influence to safeguard the PRA. Your efforts to ensure our government remains transparent will have major implications for the public’s faith in our democracy. Thank you. URLs are not allowed in this message.

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Join me in urging Congress to defend the Presidential Records Act, thus ensuring that the American story belongs to the public — not whoever is in the White House.

Featured Items

Revealed: The Justice Dept’s secret rules for targeting journalists with FISA court orders
Surveillance•Article
The Justice Dept has kept these FISA court rules for targeting journalists secret for years.

Published Sept. 17, 2018 Trevor Timm
Prisons are censoring publications that challenge state power
Prior Restraint•Article
Many civil liberties violations and instances of state abuse that incarcerated people experience are rendered invisible from the rest of the country. Prisons are cracking down on incarcerated people’s rights to access information, learn, and read the news—a huge threat to the First and Fourth Amendments.

Published Aug. 28, 2018 Camille Fassett
Whistleblower Reality Winner sentenced to longest prison term in the history of federal leak cases
Whistleblowers•Article
For alerting the public about hacking attempts on election infrastructure, Reality was given five years in jail.

Published Aug. 23, 2018
How corporations suppress disclosure of public records about themselves
FOIA•Article
Powerful corporations are increasingly deploying a diversity of tactics to subvert public records laws and prevent the disclosure of newsworthy documents about themselves.

Published Feb. 27, 2018 Camille Fassett
Beyond the blockade
Whistleblowers•Article
Since 2012, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) has accepted donations on behalf of WikiLeaks readers after Visa, Mastercard and PayPal instituted an extra-legal financial blockade of WikiLeaks in 2011 and 2012. When WikiLeaks started publishing classified State Department cables in conjunction with the New York Times and other …

Published Dec. 20, 2017
FOIA The Dead, the transparency site public figures are dying to get into
FOIA•Article
FOIA The Dead, a transparency project that automates public records requests of notable deceased individuals and publishes the results, is relaunching today as a special project of Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Published Dec. 8, 2017 Parker Higgins
Dangerous copyright ideas from a top newspaper group threaten free speech
Secrecy•Article
Fair use is vital for journalism and restricting it would be dangerous for press freedom.

Published Dec. 20, 2016 Parker Higgins
The Obama admin’s secret opposition to FOIA reform
Secrecy•Article
At the end of 2014, Congress was on the verge of passing a long overdue reform of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which would have updated the vital transparency law for the digital age. Mysteriously, the bill died at the very last minute, despite it having almost unanimous …

Published Sept. 1, 2016 Freedom of the Press Foundation
The secret rules for using National Security Letters on reporters
Secrecy•Article
After multiple spying scandals in 2013 involving the surveillance of journalists at the Associated Press and Fox News, the Justice Department announced it had updated its “media guidelines” to better protect journalists’ press freedom rights in leak investigations. This was portrayed as a big win for the press, however, the …

Published Sept. 1, 2016 Freedom of the Press Foundation
Dozens of news orgs demand DOJ release its secret rules for targeting journalists with National Security Letters
Surveillance•Article
A coalition of thirty-seven of news organizations—including the New York Times, the Associated Press, NPR, USA Today, and Buzzfeed—filed a legal brief over the weekend in support of Freedom of the Press Foundation’s case demanding that the Justice Department release its secret rules for targeting journalists with National Security Letters …

Published June 15, 2016 Trevor Timm