CIA changes course, agrees to process request for documents on Open Source Works

The Central Intelligence Agency says it will now consider a Freedom of Information Act request for documents on Open Source Works, a new CIA open source intelligence division. An historian had asked for the charter of Open Source Works with the reply that the CIA could not confirm or deny the existence of the charter. [...]

Government can withhold studies about lingering oil in Alaskan waters from ExxonMobil

A federal judge said the Environmental Protection Agency did not have to release studies about lingering oil in the Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska, the site of the devastating Exxon Valdez spill over 21 years ago. Exxon Valdez had requested the information through the Freedom of Information Act. -db From the Courthouse [...]

Bloomberg News makes point-by-point response to Fed charge of ‘egregious errors’ in story on bank bailouts

After Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve sent a letter to lawmakers criticizing Bloomberg News for “egregious errors” in a story on the bank bailout, Bloomberg responded with a detailed rebuttal of the key charges. Among other issues, the rebuttal addressed factual errors, disputes over transparency, and fairness in reporting. -db From Bloomberg News, December [...]

State Department still says cables WikiLeaks released last year are classified

The Obama administration is still insisting that cables WikiLeaks released last year are classified even though the cables were released by the State Department in compliance with a Freedom of Information Act request. The classified information concerned targeted killings, detention at Guantanamo, torture and rendition. -db From a commentary for the American Civil Liberties Union, [...]

Reporter sues to find out how Bush and Cheney sought to shape perceptions of their administration

A Gawker reporter is suing the National Archives and Records Administration for information about how former President George W. Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney tried to shape public opinion during their tenure. The reporter is not seeking the Bush administration documents protected under law from disclosure but rather the identities of those who [...]

Federal court sanctions federal government for lying about existence of records on surveillance of Muslim groups

A federal district court in California objected to the FBI’s practice of withholding information from the court whenever it thinks it serves the interest of national security. While the court said national security interests could justify withholding the information about targeting Muslim organizations from the Islamic Shura Council and its attorneys, it could not block [...]

Hurricane Katrina relief organization seeking details of FBI infiltration

The FBI has refused a Freedom of Information Act request for documents relating to the use of an inside informant on the work of  Common Ground Relief, a group dedicated to Hurricane Katrina relief and critical of the Bush administration’s response to the disaster. The FBI said releasing the documents would violate the privacy of [...]

Freedom of information: Muslim group blocked from seeing FBI investigative guidelines

A federal district judge ruled that the Justice Department does not have to provide a Muslim civil rights group with FBI investigative guidelines. The judge held that revealing the guidelines would compromise the FBI’s ability to conduct investigations and prosecutions. -db From  The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, November 15, 2011, by J.C. [...]

Justice Department refuses request for legal opinion concerning FBI surveillance

The Justice Department has refused a request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for an important legal opinon on the use of “exigent letters,” a method of requesting information that includes telephone company records. In refusing to disclose the legal opinion, the DOJ cited national security concerns. -db From Politico, November 11, 2011, by Josh Gerstein. [...]

Federal judge rules against New York Times in withholding of records of FBI terrorism investigations

A federal judge ruled that the FBI could withhold data from its terrorism investigations from a New York Times investigative reporter. The judge said The New York Times had not rebutted the FBI’s statement that they had fulfilled requests made under the Freedom of Information Act except for that under FOIA exemption. -db From the [...]

Immigration advocate group says feds stonewalling records on denying right to legal counsel

The American Immigration Council is charging that Homeland Security is blocking the release of records alleged to show how they interfere with undocumented people’s right to legal counsel. The Council filed a request for the records under the Freedom of Information Act but has only received photocopies of pages from manuals and not the records [...]

Justice Department withdraws rule change on FOIA requests

Reacting to pressure from legislators and open government advocates, the Department of Justice withdrew a proposal to allow government agencies to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests with false denials. The proposal would have allowed them to deny that records exist when they actually did. -db From a press release from the American Civil [...]

Commission unveils war fraud, seals records for 20 years

After uncovering $60 billion in contractor waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Commission on Wartime Contracting buried its internal records for 20 years. The Commission did release 8 reports and publish recommendations to avoid waste and fraud, but the decision to block access to the internal records and source material prevents the public [...]

Immigrant group gains access to ICE memo on deportation policy

A federal judge ruled that an  immigrant rights group could obtain an internal memo from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) concerning the legal justification for the Secure Communities deportation program. Using the Freedom of Information Act, the group sued five federal agencies for the memo. -d From the Courthouse News Service, October 26, [...]

Digital freedom watchdog sues Justice Department over Patriot Act

The Electronic Freedom Foundation sued the Department of Justice for its failure to release documents detailing its interpretation and use of Section 215 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The section allows the FBI to obtain a court order for “any tangible thing” related to a terrorism investigation. The EFF claims the government has been misusing [...]

Justice Department proposes change to Freedom of Information Act that facilitates hiding records

The Justice Department has proposed a rule change for the FOIA to allow government agencies to deny that records do not exist when they do. As it stands now the government can withhold information and issue a Glomar denial that says they neither confirm nor deny the records exist. Open government advocates say that the [...]

A&A: Making an FOIA request regarding border security

Q: I’m an investigative reporter trying to obtain information from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection (about 32 miles of the northern border are considered secure) and about the number of drugs, guns and weapons crossing over the border. I also need information on staffing levels compared to the southern border [...]

Billionaire backs website on federal government travel expenditures

Billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is bankrolling a website run by Chris Carey, a Michigan journalist, with information about government travel spending. The site is  JunketSleuth.com and offers searchable records of travel spending of federal officials and Congressional leaders. JunketSleuth’s “main purpose is transparency and accountability,” said Carey. “People in Washington are saying we [...]

Supreme Court keeps grisly videos and photos of murdered inmate private

The U.S. Supreme Court declined without comment to review a case barring a legal journal from obtaining gruesome video and autopsy photos of a Colorado inmate murdered by his cellmates. The Prison Legal News had applied to see the photos under the Freedom of Information Act but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the [...]

Government ethics group sues for information about SEC activities since financial fraud

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is suing the Securities Exchange Commission  for documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act showing what the SEC is doing to improve detection and enforcement on financial fraud. CREW submitted the FOIA request to the SEC in June but has received no documents on their request. [...]

Obama administration bids to keep White House visitor logs from public

The Obama administration is appealing a judge’s ruling that Secret Service records of White House visitors come under the Freedom of Information Act and must be disclosed to the public. The Justice Department claims the records are presidential records not agency records so not subject to the FOIA. -db From Politico, October 14, 2011, by [...]

Diplomat shares perspective on reading diplomatic cables released by WikiLeak

A former diplomat provides a practical guide for reading diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks with perspectives for working journalists and others on the value of the information. -db From Wired, October 7, 2011, by Daniel Serwer. Full story

Federal judge rules for CIA in destruction of interrogation videotapes

The American Civil Liberties Union and allies lost a bid in federal court to find out who was responsible for destroying nearly 100 videotapes of interrogations in 2001 of al Qaeda leaders. The judge noted that the CIA had erred in destroying the videotapes but had since made changes to prevent the destruction of videos [...]

Journalists say Obama administration withholding science data

A panel of health and science journalists said that many government agencies key to their investigations are not supporting President Obama’s transparency pledge. Delays in releasing data make it impossible for reporters to meet deadlines. The journalists complained that when requests are made, decisions often have to be made at the highest level of political [...]

Opinion: Obama promise of transparency bogs down in oil sands dealings

An opponent of the Keystone pipeline proposed to carry oil from the tar sands area of Canada to the United States says that the Obama administration has been conducting  secret meetings with the oil industry, this confirmed by documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. “…Barack Obama said he would ‘end the tyranny [...]

Federal judge approves suit against State Department on FOIA requests

A federal judge ruled that an author could proceed with his lawsuit against the State Department and other government agencies who allegedly ignored a requirement to provide Freedom of Information Act requesters estimates of the time it would take to fulfill requests. The author was after information about the Iraq oil industry. -db From Politico, [...]

EFF pushes for disclosure of makeup of Intelligence Oversight Board

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing the government for records of who is on the Intelligence Oversight Board, the civilian board responsible for reviewing misconduct reports for federal intelligence agencies. The suit  is part of EFF’s ongoing investigation of intelligence violations as Congress considers changes to current oversight laws. -db From a press release from [...]

Obama administration bids to withhold Osama bin Laden death images

The Justice Department filed a motion in federal court claiming that the death photos and videos of Osama bin Laden should be exempted from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The CIA said that releasing the graphic images of bin Laden would “cause harm to the national security of the United States” by [...]

Critics balance praise with skepticism on new Obama promise for greater transparency

The Obama administration has reduced the backlog of  Freedom of Information Act requests but still faces a large number of unfulfilled requests. Under a new plan, the administration wants to improve the processing of the requests and also address other crucial issues in government openness including strengthening whistleblower protections and making more information available. Writing [...]

Obama administration pledges faster pace on approving FOIA requests

The Obama administration said it would use advances in technology to expedite Freedom of Information Act requests. The new pledge is part of an international effort to provide citizens greater power to participate in government. -db From Broadcasting & Cable, September 20, 2011, by John Eggerton. Full story

CIA’s climate change center proclaims all records and activities secret

All requests for CIA reports on the impact of global warming have been denied on national security grounds prompting skepticism from Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News. “The CIA response indicates a fundamental lack of discernment that calls into question the integrity of the Center on Climate Change, if not the Agency as a whole. If [...]

Opinion: Secrecy News challenges Obama assessment of open government gains

The Obama administration’s report on progress on transparency in the federal government contains some false information, misrepresentations, and omits some successes notably in limiting national security secrecy, writes Steven Aftergood in Secrecy News. Aftergood thinks that although some strides have been made in releasing data on government agencies through Data.gov, overall the report is not [...]

Obama admnistration cites transparency gains in report

The Obama administration released a report about their progress in increasing transparency. They cited increased grants of Freedom of Information Act requests; the declassification of sensitive data; and the use of technology to improve access to government spending and information on government agencies. The report was well-received by open government advocates, but they noted that [...]

Federal appeals decision busts privacy exemption for Freedom of Information Act requests

The Internet era has eroded a Supreme Court decision (Department of Justice v. Reporters’ Committee) allowing governments to deny rap sheets requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Now it is possible to tap into a national database provided by the federal courts to obtain the information. In an opinion a federal judge has even [...]

Federal appeals court rules government must turn over records on warrantless tracking of cell phones

The Electronic Freedom Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union won a victory in court as the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government must produce documents concerning criminal prosecutions in which the government obtained cell phone site locations without a warrant. The court found that the release of the documents would [...]

National Archives sitting on 9/11 Commission records

Although the 9/11 Commission ordered that their investigative records of al Qaeda’s attack on the United States should be opened to the public in 2009, the National Archives has not yet released the vast majority of the information. John Berger, an author who maintains a website with 9/11-related documents, said to withhold the information is [...]

Justice Department ordered to release case information related to alleged illegal search

A federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Department of Justice must release case docket information in criminal cases where the government used cellphone location tracking data without a warrant.The American Civil Liberties Union used the Freedom of Information Act starting in 2007 in a bid for the information. The ACLU was concerned that the [...]

Federal ruling helps newspapers bid for California legislative expenses

A new federal ruling extended the application of the Freedom of Information Act bolstering the attempts of California newspapers to obtain records of California lawmakers’ budget allowances and expenditures. The newspapers were petitioning for the records under the state’s Legislative Open Records Act. The federal district court ruling came down in August when the judge [...]

Editorial: Feds drag heels on releasing records going back as far as World War II

While the Obama administration is making some progress in breaking the backlog of Freedom of Information Act requests, the National Security Archive says that there are still requests that go back over a decade and even to World War II. There are reasons for the slow pace but none that make much sense or could [...]

ACLU sues for records of FBI’s domestic spying

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the FBI and the National Security Agency for withholding information about the eGuardian monitoring system that collects information on “suspicious activity” that may include taking photos of important buildings. The ACLU has been unsuccessful in its attempts to acquire the information through the Freedom of Information Act. The [...]

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