FOIA News: OGIS Releases New FOIA Handout

New OGIS Handout Available

Nat'l Archives & Records Admin., The FOIA Ombudsman, Apr. 12, 2017

It will come as no surprise to our regular readers when we say that the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 has resulted in substantial changes to OGIS’s operations. As we have talked about in a few blog posts, OGIS now has an expanded role in providing dispute resolution throughout the FOIA process. The amendments have also strengthened our mandate to review agency FOIA compliance and to identify strategies to improve compliance.

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To better explain OGIS’s role in the process, and the types of assistance that we can offer requesters, we have published a new handout. The handout, which is available on the OGIS Toolbox in the Resources section of our website, clearly describes Who We Are, What We Do, and how to get in contact with us.

Read more here.

FOIA News: MuckRock announces "FOIA March Madness" winner

FOIA March Madness 2017: And the winner is …

MuckRock wraps up its 2nd Annual FOIA fight to the finish

By Beryl Lipton, Muckrock, Apr. 12, 2017

For the last month, 64 federal government Freedom of Information Act agencies have been waging noble battle for the title of Most Responsive Agency 2017. It’s been four weeks of phone conversations, follow ups, and frustratingly close calls, and now we’re ready to announce the champion of this year’s match-up.

But first, a few things.

Read more here.

FOIA News: New FOIA lawsuit demands White House visitor logs

New suit demands Trump White House visitor logs

Josh Gerstein, Politico, Apr. 10, 2017

A new lawsuit is demanding that a log of visitors to the White House and to President Donald Trump's homes in New York and Florida be released to the public.

The suit, set to be filed Monday in federal court in New York, contends that the Secret Service is in violation of the law by failing to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests for details on visitors to the White House and other locations where Mr. Trump has spent time since taking office.

Read more here.

Q&A: Border Crossings

Q:  I am a permanent resident.  How can I request records documenting my arrival and departure to and from the United States for each time I've traveled outside the country?

A.  Records concerning entry and exit from the United States after 1982 are available through the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") agency.  Further information about how to submit a FOIA request to CBP is available here or through FOIAOnline.  Please remember that you'll need to provide enough information (e.g., date of birth, alien number, etc.) to establish your identity.  This will help the agency to locate your records and also satisfy its obligations under the Privacy Act.  If you still have questions, consider calling the CBP FOIA Office at (202) 325-0150 (Mon. - Fri., 8am - 5pm EST). 

FOIA News: BuzzFeed Sues the FBI Over Andrew Breitbart Records Request

BuzzFeed Sues the FBI Over Andrew Breitbart Records Request

By Tim Kenneally, The Wrap, April 9 , 2017

BuzzFeed wants some answers from the FBI about deceased conservative media figure Andrew Breitbart — and it’s willing to sue to find out.

BuzzFeed and journalist Jason Leopold have filed a complaint against the FBI, claiming that the bureau hasn’t done everything it can to answer their request for information on Breitbart.

The complaint, filed Friday in federal court in California, says that Leopold filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI for “all records related to Andrew Breitbart” on Aug. 7, 2012, a few months after Breitbart died at age 43.

Read more here.

Court opinion issued Apr. 7, 2017

Plunkett v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- granting government's summary judgment motion because Federal Bureau of Prisons released all records concerning plaintiff's criminal case that were at issue. 

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.

FOIA News: Watchdog calls on Trump to fulfill Obama-era FOIA requests

Watchdog calls on Trump to fulfill Obama-era FOIA requests

By Todd Shepherd, Washington Examiner, April 7, 2017

A free-market watchdog is calling on President Trump to release documents that were sought under the Freedom of Information Act requests that were blocked during the Obama administration, and in particular wants Trump to release documents related to the policies he's thinking about overturning.

Chris Horner is a senior fellow at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute think tank, which advances "limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty." Horner argues that if the Trump administration is as focused on overturning Obama-era rules and regulations as it has promised to be, it only makes sense that the government release documents showing how those rules were created in the first place.

"Before Trump spends one more dime of our money on these initiatives, he should require his appointees ensure a prompt review of what has been denied to the public on key [Obama] administration priorities," Horner said.

Read more here.

Court opinions issued Apr. 5, 2017

Reddick v. U.S. Dep't of Energy (E.D. Wash.) -- dismissing case as moot because agency -- prior to scheduled bench trial -- released disputed document in full to plaintiff and agreed to pay all litigation costs. 

Smith v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (D. Colo.) -- finding that plaintiff, an immigration attorney, had standing to litigate claim that agency has pattern and practice of denying FOIA requests that might assist fugitive aliens.   

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.

FOIA News: Feds refuse to release US attorneys' resignation letters

Feds refuse to release US attorneys' resignation letters

By Adam Silverman, Burlington Free Press, April 6, 2017

The Justice Department is refusing to disclose letters of resignation from U.S. attorneys who left their posts at the request of the Trump administration.

The letters — sent by public officials in response to a directive from the president and the attorney general — are so "inherently personal" that they are exempt from release, a Justice Department lawyer wrote in rejecting a Freedom of Information Act request from the Burlington Free Press.

Open-government experts questioned that reasoning.

...

Five FOIA experts who spoke with the Free Press this week took issue with that reasoning — including a former Justice Department lawyer who worked exclusively on freedom-of-information requests and appeals.

"As a FOIA matter, this is a pretty clear-cut mistake," said Allan Blutstein, who served from 2004-09, mostly during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush. Blutstein now is vice president of FOIA operations at America Rising, a conservative political action committee.

Blutstein said the Justice Department's denial letter and the speed with which Brinkmann sent it — less than 10 days after receiving the request — suggest department staff conducted no search for responsive records and relied instead on the belief that all the resignation letters are exempt from disclosure.

FOIA News: FRTIB proposes revised FOIA regulations

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board published a proposed rule with request for comments concerning revised FOIA regulations in today's issue of the Federal Register.  The proposed changes implement recommendations from the Office of Government Information Services and reflect amendments required by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.  Comments must be received by May 8, 2017.