FOIA News: D.C. Circuit hears “Fake News” case

DC Circ. Dubious Of FBI FOIA Claims In Fake News Case

Law 360, Jan. 12, 2021

Two D. C. Circuit judges expressed skepticism Tuesday that the FBI adequately searched for records concerning agents' alleged practice of impersonating journalists, suggesting that the agency did not fully explain the purported harm that disclosure of certain documents requested by media organizations under the Freedom of Information Act would cause. Government attorney Joseph F. Busa maintained during oral arguments that the agency appropriately invoked a FOIA exemption to withhold records sought by media advocacy group Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Associated Press.

Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).

Listen to the oral argument here.

FOIA News: Litigation attorney wanted by FBI

The Department of Justice published a job vacancy today for a FOIA litigation attorney at the FBI.. The announcement does not provide an application deadline.

FOIA News: Opinion on Biden & transparency

How Biden Can Bring Transparency Back to Government

Federal secrecy reached new heights under Trump, but there’s a lot the incoming president can do to let the sunshine back in.

By Joshua Eaton, The New Republic, Jan. 1, 2021

On January 20, workers will disinfect every inch of the White House complex to prepare it for the new administration. While they’re doing that, President-elect Joe Biden could do some sanitizing of his own by signing a memorandum to promote government transparency, opening the windows of the executive branch to let some fresh air and sunshine in after four very cloudy years.

The presidential memo is one of several key steps that transparency advocates want to see from the new administration. Some of those steps, like an overhaul of the Freedom of Information Act and more funding for agency records offices, would require action from Congress. But there are other steps, like appointing someone within the White House to oversee government transparency efforts, that Biden can take on his own.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Gov't FOIA jobs available

• DHS/Headquarters, Deputy Chief FOIA Officer (ES-00), D.C., closes 12/28/2020

• CFTC, Attorney Advisor (CT 12-13), D.C., closes 12/28/2020

• HHS/FDA, Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 12-13), Maryland, closes 12/30/2020

• HHS/HRSA, Supervisory Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 15), Maryland, closes 12/31/2020

• MSPB, Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 9-11), D.C., closes 1/4/2021

• Dep’t of the Interior/Solicitor, Supervisory Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 15), D.C., closes 1/13/2021

• Dep’t of the Interior/NPS, Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 12), Pennsylvania, closes 1/13/2021

FOIA News: Second Circuit blocks access to firearms trace data; splits with Ninth Circuit

Gun Use in US Suicides Kept Secret With 2nd Circuit Ruling

By Nina Pullano, Courthouse News Serv., Dec. 23, 2020

The U.S. government need not release statistics on guns used in suicides or attempted suicides, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday, reversing what had been a victory for gun-regulation advocates.

Seeking such information as part of a push to curb gun violence in America, the group Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund demanded that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives produce relevant records under the Freedom of Information Act. 

Demurring, however, the ATF argued that Congress had specifically blocked access to the Firearms Trace System database. The move centered on a series of amendments to the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2005, known as the Tiahrt Riders, first adopted in the early 2000s and updated in 2012. 

Read more here.

FOIA News: Drafter of original FOIA statute dies at 98

Mark Schlefer, who helped write FOIA legislation, dies at 98

By Louie Estrada, Wash. Post, Dec. 21, 2020

From a young age, maritime and shipping lawyer Mark P. Schlefer liked to challenge authority.

* * *

His willingness to ask questions of people in power carried over to his professional life and led to his role in the development of the Freedom of Information Act, the landmark legislation providing citizens with a tool to keep the government open and honest.

Mr. Schlefer, a former Washington resident, died Nov. 2 at his home in Putney, Vt. The cause was cardiorespiratory arrest, said a daughter, Katharine Schlefer Dodge. He was 98.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Nominations for worst responses of 2020

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock are accepting nominations for the seventh annual “Foilies,” which recognizes government agencies for their anti-transparent responses to public records requests. The deadline to submit nominations is January 8, 2020. See details here.

FOIA News: OMB Finalizes Updated Fee Guidelines

The White House Office of Management and Budget published the final revisions to its government-wide FOIA fee guidlines in today’s issue of the Federal Register. The agency incorporated several changes proposed during the public comment period. The new guidelines are effective immediately.

FOIA News: NIH posts FOIA webinar

The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare has released a 30-minute webinar on how NIH handles FOIA requests related to animal welfare. The discussion is hosted by OLAW Deputy Director Axel Wolff and NIH FOIA Program Officer Gorka Garcia-Malene.

FOIA News: Gov't FOIA jobs available

• Dep’t of Def., Sec’y, Gov’t Info. Specialist, GS-13, Virginia, closes Dec. 17, 2020

• Dep’t of the Air Force, Gov’t Info Specialist, GS-9, D.C., closes Dec. 17, 2020

• Social Sec. Admin., Gov’t Info. Specialist, GS-11, Maryland, closes Dec. 18, 2020

• Dep’t of Justice, Antitrust, Gov’t Info. Specialist, GS-9-11, D.C., closes Dec. 21, 2020

• Office of Personnel Mgmt., Supervisory Gov’t Info. Specialist, GS 15, D.C., closes Dec. 22, 2020

• Dep’t of Homeland Sec., FEMA, Gov’t Info, Specialist, IC 11-12, D.C., closes Dec. 23, 2020

• Dep’t of the Treasury/HQ, Supervisory Gov’t Info. Specialist, GS-14, D.C., closes Dec. 24, 2020

• Dep’t of the Interior/HQ, Gov’t Info. Specialist, GS-13, D.C., closes Dec. 24, 2020