FOIA overhaul continues with creation of legal team
By Jennifer Yachnin, E&E News, Jan. 8, 2020
The Interior Department plans to establish a new "litigation unit" to consolidate legal challenges over Freedom of Information Act requests, part of the agency's ongoing overhaul of its handling of public records demands.
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The Office of Information Policy postponed its technology workshop yesterday after the Office of Personnel Management issued a weather-related early departure. A new date for the workshop has not been announced.
White House Withholds 20 Emails Between Two Trump Aides on Ukraine Aid
It contends the release of the documents sought by The Times, would “inhibit the frank and candid exchange of views” in government decision-making.
By Charlie Savage & Eric Lipton, NY Times, Jan. 3, 2020
The Trump administration disclosed on Friday that there were 20 emails between a top aide to President Trump’s acting chief of staff and a colleague at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget discussing the freeze of a congressionally mandated military aid package for Ukraine.
But in response to a court order that it swiftly process those pages in response to a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, lawsuit filed by The New York Times, the Office of Management and Budget delivered a terse letter saying it would not turn over any of the 40 pages of emails — not even with redactions.
Read more here.
Last week the Office of Information Policy announced that it will host a workshop on FOIA and technology on January 7, 2020, from 2-4pm. The workshop is open to all agency FOIA professionals and interested personnel. More details here.
On December 20, 2019, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which contains several FOIA provisions:
Section 550, which protects certain victim disclosures under the “Catch a Serial Offender Program” and expressly identifies Exemption 3 as the basis for withholding.
Section 835, which modifies 10 U.S.C. 2361a concerning a now-completed panel report on DOD Acquisitions Regulations, provides that the “working papers, records of interview, and any other draft work products generated for any purpose by the Section 809 Panel shall be covered by the deliberative process privilege exemption under paragraph (5) of section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code.”
Section 5726(e) requires certain energy information “shared by or with the Federal Government or a State, Tribal, or local government” to be “withheld from the public public, without discretion, under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code, and any provision of any State, Tribal, or local law requiring the disclosure of information or records.”
Hat tip to founding OIP director Richard Huff, whom we recently profiled, for notifying us about these FOIA items. Mr. Huff noted that Section 835 “still leaves open a question as to whether it would satisfy the ‘reasonable harm’ test,” and that Section 5726(e) “is one of the very few provisions of which I am aware that extends federal supremacy over information shared with a state or locality.”
Judge Axes Mueller Doc Grant Ahead Of Stone Sentencing
By Khorri Atkinson, Law360, Dec. 18, 2019
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday shut down a request by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and BuzzFeed for access to materials produced by former special counsel Robert Mueller concerning onetime Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone, saying that doing otherwise could potentially affect the embattled GOP operative’s sentencing slated for early February.
Read more here (accessible with free subscription).
Gov’t Info. Specialist, U.S. Marines Corps (closes 12/20/19)
FOIA Expert, Office of the Dir. of Nat’l Intelligence, (closes 12/25/19)
Supervisory Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Education, Office of Civil Rights (closes 12/26/19)
Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Health & Human Serv., FDA (closes 12/26/19)
Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Justice, Exec. Office for U.S. Attorneys (closes 12/31/19)
Trial Attorney, Dep’t of Justice, Office of Enforcement Operations (closes 12/31/19)
Attorney-Advisor, Dep’t of Justice, Office of Prof. Responsibility (closes 2/25/20)
Attorney, Dep’t of Justice, FBI (closes 10/30/20)
By Kevin Penton, Law360, Dec. 17, 2019
The public’s right to know information about Justice Brett Kavanaugh that the Federal Bureau of Investigation deems "unquestionably private" and potentially embarrassing trumps his right to privacy, BuzzFeed told a D.C. federal court Monday.
The federal government should release to BuzzFeed Inc. certain records related to the FBI's investigation into allegations against Justice Kavanaugh that were made during his confirmation proceedings, according to a memorandum accompanying the media company’s motion for summary judgment.
Read more here (accessible with free subscription).
FOIA Suits Rise Because Agencies Don't Respond Even As Requesters Wait Longer To File Suit
TRAC, Dec. 15, 2019
In the last few years, the number of FOIA lawsuits has risen dramatically, much faster than the rise in FOIA requests. Anecdotal reports suggest that delays in receiving responses to FOIA requests may be increasing and a reason for rising litigation. TRAC's FOIA Project, with the help of a talented summer legal intern, explored the possible impact that delays in receiving responses could be having.
The study found that the number of suits challenging agencies substantive responses had not materially changed in the last four years. Their numbers remained relatively small. Instead, most litigation occurred when agencies failed to respond to FOIA requesters. Suits filed when agencies failed to respond to FOIA requesters have skyrocketed. In more than four out of every five suits the agency had failed to respond.
Read more here.
Media organization fights Trump administration over Ukraine documents FOIA
By Tal Axelrod, The Hill, Dec. 13, 2019
The Center for Public Integrity on Friday filed a motion in federal court to try to force the Trump administration to hand over documents regarding its decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine.
The motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges redactions on more than 100 pages of documents released by the Pentagon in response to the center's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
“This is not a case of federal agencies asserting an aggressive, good-faith interpretation of the Freedom of Information Act,” the center said.
Read more here.