Whistleblower Network News Hosts FOIA Webinar
By Ana Popovich, Whistleblower Network News, Dec. 11, 2020,
On December 14, 2020, Whistleblower Network News (WNN) will host a free webinar on how whistleblowers and journalists can use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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Whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto will lead the webinar. Kohn has filed thousands of FOIA requests and litigated many successful FOIA appeals over the last four decades
Read more here.
Robot lawyer startup DoNotPay now lets you file FOIA requests
Zack Whittaker, Tech Crunch, Dec. 10, 2020
DoNotPay, the consumer advice company that started out helping people easily challenge parking tickets, has come a long way since it launched. It’s expanded to help consumers cancel memberships, claim compensation for missed flights, and even sue companies for small claims. In the early days of the pandemic, the startup helped its users file for unemployment, where many state benefit sites crashed.
Now the so-called “robot lawyer” has a new trick. The startup now lets you request information from U.S. federal and state government agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.
Read more here.
The Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee will meet virtually on Thursday, December 10, 2020, from 10AM to 1PM. The meeting will be livestreamed on the National Archives’ YouTube channel. The agenda is available here.
The American Society of Access Professional will be hosting a training seminar entitled SCOTUS and Exemption 5: Deliberative Process Privilege on December 8, 2020. Presenters include Dick Huff, former co-founder of the Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy, and Adam A. Marshall, Staff Attorney at Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. See details here.
The Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee will meet virtually on December 10, 2020, from 10 AM to 1 PM. Registration details are available here.
The American Society of Access Professionals has announced that Ryan Mulvey has been elected President of its Board of Directors for the 2021-2022 term. Mr. Mulvey, a staff member at FOIA Advisor, serves as policy counsel at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and as counsel for Cause of Action Institute.
Congratulations, Ryan!
The Congressional Budget Office has released a cost estimate for H.R. 7163, which would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a five-year plan to comply with FOIA response deadlines. CBO estimates that the agency would need $20 million to add 45 full-time employees, as well as $2 million for information technology resources.
News Orgs Rip Feds' Bid To Pause COVID-19 Relief Disclosure
By Khorri Atkinson, Law360, Nov. 17, 2020
Several news outlets fired back Monday at the Trump administration's bid to pause a recent D.C. federal court order to disclose records that would identify and provide information on all businesses that have received COVID-19 relief funds, arguing that the data is vital to the public's evaluation of the government's response to the pandemic.
Five major news organizations, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and Bloomberg, that secured a win earlier this month in their Freedom of Information Act suit for access to the records told U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in an opposition brief that the U.S. Small Business Administration must not be allowed to delay its disclosure obligations further by requesting a stay of his Nov. 5 order pending possible appeal to the D.C. Circuit.
Read more here.
OGIS Releases FOIA Advisory Committee Recommendations Dashboard
Nat'l Archives & Records Admin., The FOIA Ombudsman, Nov. 17, 2020
Ever wonder what happens to all the recommendations made by the FOIA Advisory Committee? Thanks to OGIS’s new dashboard tool, you can check on their status yourself!
Thirty FOIA Advisory Committee recommendations for improving FOIA administration across the government can now be tracked in one place: a recommendations dashboard on the OGIS website. The dashboard provides descriptions of each recommendation, actions taken to fulfill each, and links to reports, correspondence and other related material. We plan to update the dashboard at least quarterly.
Read more here.
SBA seeks to delay release of loan records following court order
The agency asked for more time to consider whether it should appeal. It could further delay public access to data on 87 percent of Paycheck Protection Program loans.
By Nate Jones & Aaron Gregg, Wash. Post, Nov. 17, 2020
The Small Business Administration has asked a federal judge to delay release of records involving millions of small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans, arguing that publicizing those records would do “irreparable harm” to millions of businesses by exposing allegedly confidential information.
A federal judge ruled Nov. 5 that the SBA must release borrower and loan information about the federal Paycheck Protection Program by Nov. 19. The Washington Post and 10 other news organizations prevailed in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to win the information’s release. But in a Nov. 12 court filing, the agency said it needed more time to determine whether it should appeal.
Read more here.