FOIA News: Dep't of Energy sued over still-interested campaign

American Oversight Sues Trump Administration Over Unlawful Effort to Shut Down FOIA Requests

A new DOE policy burdens requesters by demanding proactive, duplicative confirmation of FOIA requests without notice.

Press Release, Am. Oversight, Sept. 3, 2025

On Wednesday, American Oversight filed suit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its unlawful attempt to evade its obligations to answer requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by requiring requesters to re-confirm their interest in pending FOIA requests — a move by the Trump administration that could result in countless unlawfully closed FOIA requests submitted by media outlets, nonpartisan organizations, and members of the public.

On August 14, DOE announced that those with FOIA requests submitted prior to October 1, 2024, must affirmatively email the agency within 30 days to keep those requests open. Requests that are not “confirmed” risk being closed, regardless of their importance to public interest or how long they have been pending. American Oversight’s lawsuit argues that this unlawful requirement exceeds DOE’s authority under FOIA, violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and undermines Congress’ clear intent that agencies process public records requests in a timely manner.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Save the date for Sunshine Fest 2026

The second annual Sunshine Fest has been scheduled for March 16-17, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Proposals for panel sessions and speaker suggestions can be submitted through September 22, 2025.

FOIA News: More DOGE fun

FOIA Results Wanted Before Ruling In DOGE Disclosure Suit

By Jared Foretek, Law360, Aug. 26, 2025

A D.C. federal judge said he wants to see how the Trump administration responds to Freedom of Information Act requests submitted in February before deciding on the government's motion to dismiss an environmental group's suit claiming that DOGE teams working in federal agencies have violated transparency laws.

At a status conference Tuesday morning, an attorney for the federal government said some of the agencies that received FOIA requests regarding the activities of the advisory organization known as the Department of Government Efficiency should be formally responding next month. But, he said, the court shouldn't need to wait for the agencies to reply to review its dismissal motion, arguing that the Center for Biological Diversity, the plaintiff, had brought a deficient complaint in the hopes of strengthening it with FOIA responses and discovery later.

 "The proper process here is not to file a deficient complaint and then … seek discovery to fill deficiencies in the complaint," Samuel Holt, the U.S. Department of Justice attorney, said Tuesday.

 But U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss said that it would save the court time if he took on any FOIA disputes before assessing the government's grounds for dismissal. If a dismissal ruling came first, he said, the court might grant it, only to have the plaintiffs bring an amended complaint using what they got from the FOIA requests.

Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).

FOIA News: OIP announces FY26 training thru Feb. 4th

OIP Announces New FOIA Trainings Dates for Fiscal Year 2026

By DOJ/OIP FOIA Post, Aug. 25 2025

Today, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) announces new dates for FOIA training during for the first half of Fiscal Year 2026.  As part of its responsibility to encourage agency compliance with the FOIA, OIP offers numerous training opportunities throughout the year for agency FOIA professionals and individuals with FOIA responsibilities. 

These courses are designed to offer training opportunities for personnel from all stages of the FOIA workforce, from new hires to the experienced FOIA professionals or FOIA managers.  OIP will continue to offer virtual training sessions that will be taught in real-time by OIP instructors.  We will announce more training opportunities for the spring and summer at a later date.  As Fiscal Year 2026 quickly approaches, we are excited to announce our upcoming virtual training courses. You can find these courses listed on OIP’s Training page.

The courses and dates scheduled so far for Fiscal Year 2026 are:

Virtual Annual FOIA Report Refresher and Quarterly Report Training
October 7, 2025

Virtual Chief FOIA Officer Report Refresher Training
October 15, 2025

Virtual Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act
November 5, 2025

Virtual Litigation Seminar 
November 12, 2025

Virtual Procedural Requirements and Fees Training
December 2, 2025

Virtual Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training
December 10, 2025

Virtual Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Training
January 13, 2026

Virtual Privacy Considerations Training
January 21, 2026

Virtual Administrative Appeals, FOIA Compliance, and Customer Service Training
January 28, 2026

Virtual Advanced Freedom of Information Act Training
February 4, 2026

Read more here.

FOIA News: As the fiscal year comes to a close, OIP issues more guidance on backlog reduction plans

OIP Issues Guidance on Backlog Reduction Plans for FOIA Offices

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Aug. 22, 2025

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) released guidance this week on the benefits of and considerations for developing and updating agency backlog reduction plans.  A request is backlogged if it is pending past the FOIA’s standard 20- or 30-day response timeframes. Developing adaptable and sustainable plans to manage and reduce backlogs is a key part of agency FOIA administration.

The guidance is tailored to address considerations for agencies that are in the process of developing or updating their backlog reduction plans.  It explains the importance of involving key stakeholders, tailoring content based on component-specific needs, and obtainable goal-setting and accountability measures.  The guidance also stresses the importance of implementing and maintaining agency backlog reduction plans as living documents subject to modification as improvements to processes are made or changes in the law occur over time.  By implementing backlog reduction plans, agencies and requesters will benefit from institutionalized best practices of effective FOIA administration.

Read more here.

[Given shrinking FOIA staffs and rising requests, the coming fiscal year is likely to test the limits of even the best-crafted backlog plan. As T.S. Eliot warned, “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.”]

FOIA News: DOJ revises "Procedural Requirements" of DOJ Guide

On August 15, 2025, the Office of Information Policy posted a revised version of the Procedural Requirements section of the DOJ Guide to the Freedom of Information Act. Those looking for recent case citations will be disappointed: the “updated” 94-page section “primarily includes case law, guidance and statutes up until June 30, 2023,” per OIP’s first footnote. True to its word, we found only one case from 2024 (see footnote 227) and none from 2025. The remaining changes are mostly citations to OIP guidance that the office updated in the last two years and to DOJ’s own FOIA regulations.

In the words of Alexander Pope, ‘Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.’”

FOIA News: What I did this summer

Staff Spotlight: My Law Clerkship with OGIS

By Office of Gov’t Info. Serv. FOIA Ombuds, Aug. 19, 2025

The following blog post was written by Hala Shabaneh, the 2025 summer law clerk for the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) and a second-year law student at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School.  

This summer, I had the opportunity to serve as a law clerk at the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). OGIS offers mediation services to resolve Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disputes and conducts compliance reviews across federal agencies. From my very first day, I was immersed in the unique legal and policy work that supports transparency and government accountability, and I quickly realized that OGIS occupies a distinctive space in the federal landscape. 

Read more here.

FOIA News: Registration open for next FOIA Advisory Committee meeting

Registration is now open for sixth meeting of The federal Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term on September 11, 2025. Sign up here. Meeting materials will be posted here.

FOIA News: Dep't of Energy Publishes "Still Interested" Notice in the Federal Register

The Department of Energy (“DOE”) has published its controversial “Still Interested” inquiry notice in the Federal Register. See 90 Fed. Reg. 39,187 (Aug. 14, 2025). According to the notice, the agency will be sending email correspondences to every requester with an open FOIA request filed before October 1, 2024, so long as that request is not in litigation. If the requester does not indicate his or her interest in the continued processing of the request by following the instructions contained in today’s notice, and responding within thirty days, the agency will administratively close the request. Part of the justification given for this step was the fact that DOE has been “inundated with requests from vexatious requesters and automated bots.” Requests pending at DOE field sites, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Federal Energy Regulation Commission are not subject to what some have termed this “en masse” still-interested inquiry.

FOIA News: "En Masse" Issuance of Still-Interested Letters at DOE Announced

Trump Administration Outlines Plan to Throw Out an Agency’s FOIA Requests En Masse

Jason Koebler, 404 Media, Aug. 13, 2025

The Department of Energy (DOE) said in a public notice scheduled to be published Thursday that it will throw out all Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests sent to the agency before October 1, 2024 unless the requester proactively emails the agency to tell it they are still interested in the documents they requested. This will result in the improper closure of likely thousands of FOIA requests if not more; government transparency experts told 404 Media that the move is “insane,” “ludicrous,” a “Pandora’s Box,” and “an underhanded attempt to close out as many FOIA requests as possible.”

The DOE notice says “requesters who submitted a FOIA request to DOE HQ at any time prior to October 1, 2024 (FY25), that is still open and is not under active litigation with DOE (or another Federal agency) shall email StillInterestedFOIA@hq.doe.gov to continue processing of the FOIA request […] If DOE HQ does not receive a response from requesters within the 30-day time-period with a DOE control number, no further action will be taken on the open FOIA request(s), and the file may be administratively closed.” A note at the top of the notice says it is scheduled to be formally published in the Federal Register on Thursday.

Read more here.