FOIA News: D.C. Circuit to Hold Oral Argument in FOIA Clawback

On Thursday, January 29, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral argument in Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, No. 25-5309. A livestream is available here.

This case concerns the proper interpretation of the D.C. Circuit’s decision last year in Human Rights Defense Center v. U.S. Park Police (D.C. Cir. 2025), and the ability of courts to order “clawback” of inadvertently disclosed agency records as an exercise of equitable remedial authority.

The lower court’s decision can be found here.

[FOIA Advisor’s Ryan Mulvey filed an amicus brief in support of the Appellants and reversal. Read it here.]

FOIA News: EPA proposes to stop expediting requests concerning environmental justice

EPA will rescind its environmental justice–based expedited FOIA processing provision, as set forth in a proposed rule published today in the Federal Register. The proposal notes that expedited processing based on “compelling need” would remain available and that environmental justice–related requests would continue to be eligible for fee waivers.

Public comments will be accepted until February 26, 2026.

FOIA News: 2025 annual FOIA reports

Agencies are required to post their Fiscal Year 2025 Annual FOIA Report on their websites no later than March 1, 2026. Here are a few agencies that have gotten off to an early start. As in previous years, we will provide additional updates and summarize the reports issued by the more active FOIA agencies.

• Postal Regulatory Comm’n

• U.S. Comm’n on Civil Rights

• Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (received 140 requests; processed 13 requests)

• Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigations Bd.

• Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency

• Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm’n

• Inter-American Found.

• Nat’l Indian Gaming Comm’n

• Nat’l Mediation Bd.

• Office of Gov’t Ethics

• Privacy & Civil Liberties Bd.

• Selective Service Sys.

• U.S. Int’l Trade Comm’n

• U.S. Postal Serv.

FOIA News: Tax Notes launches FOIA newsletter

A new Freedom of Information Act newsletter, FOIA Findings, was launched in January to focus on how FOIA and open records laws can be used to illuminate tax policy and tax administration.

The newsletter is led by journalist Lauren Locricchio, who will oversee reporting and analysis rooted in documents obtained through FOIA and related disclosure laws. Each edition is designed to surface what agency records actually show—cutting through press releases and policy statements to highlight the evidence behind the decisions.

FOIA Findings is published by Tax Notes, a leading source of tax news and analysis founded in 1970. For more than five decades, Tax Notes has provided in-depth reporting and analysis for tax professionals, policymakers, academics, and journalists

Readers can subscribe to FOIA Findings on LinkedIn or through the Tax Notes website. You can find the newsletter here.

FOIA News: Sunshine Week awards for feds

OIP Now Accepting Nominations for the 2026 Sunshine Week FOIA Awards

By DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Jan. 23, 2026

The Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce that nominations are open for the 2026 Sunshine Week FOIA Awards, recognizing the contributions of FOIA professionals from around the government. 

Agency FOIA professionals are at the center of ensuring successful FOIA administration and we look forward to celebrating the work of these individuals from around the government.  For this year’s event, OIP is seeking nominations for three categories of awards:

• Exceptional Service by a FOIA Professional or Team of FOIA Professionals

• Exceptional Advancements in IT to Improve the Agency’s FOIA Administration

• Lifetime Service Award

Nominations can be submitted by agencies or by a member of the public.  All nominations are due to OIP by Friday, February 13, 2026.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FDA FOIA: Two Law Firm Playbooks

How Lawyers Use FOIA for Radically Different Agendas

FOIAengine: A Tale of Two Law Firms

By Randy E. Miller, Law St. Media, Jan. 22, 2026

When most people think about the Freedom of Information Act, they imagine journalists prying loose hidden facts or activists holding officials accountable. But FOIA is also a workhorse tool for lawyers. As two law firms’ 2025 FOIA filings with the Food and Drug Administration show, the same statute can serve very different legal purposes.

In 2025, Siri & Glimstad and Hyman, Phelps & McNamara were the leading law firm submitters of FOIA requests to the FDA, according to PoliScio Analytics’ competitive-intelligence database FOIAengine, which tracks FOIA requests in as close to real-time as their availability allows. The two firms accounted for 13 percent of the 1,098 requests to the FDA made by 368 law firms last year.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Stars and Stripes still there; DOD regulation no longer gallantly streaming

The Department of Defense is removing a 1994 regulation governing its Stars and Stripes newspaper operations after determining that the rule addresses only internal policies and procedures and is unnecessary for public regulation; those matters will instead continue to be governed by DoD Directive 5122.11, according to a Federal Register notice published on January 15, 2026 (and effective immediately). Although DoD proposed updating the rule in April 2024 and received 91 public comments—most, but not all, supportive of Stars and Stripes and largely focused on issues such as FOIA access, facility access, and the republication of materials—the Department decided that those concerns were more appropriately handled through internal directives rather than notice-and-comment rulemaking.

FOIA News: Hedge funds, FOIA, and the FDA

How Hedge Funds Use FOIA to Stay Ahead of the Market

FOIAengine: Warning Letters and Inspection Reports in the Spotlight

By John A. Jenkins, Law St. Media, Jan. 14, 2026

Freedom of Information Act requests filed with the Food and Drug Administration by hedge funds last month revealed big financial players closely eyeing warning letters, enforcement documents, and inspection reports for major drug manufacturers and biopharma companies.

At the forefront was a sweeping request from Greenwich, Conn.-based Deep Track Capital for all Form 483 inspection reports issued by the FDA over nearly three years to two companies – CG Oncology (NASDAQ: CGON), which develops immunotherapies for bladder cancer; and Biovire, a contract manufacturer specializing in the final step of packaging “novel drugs and medical devices” for patient use.

Deep Track, focused exclusively on the life sciences industry, has $5.2 billion in assets under management and invests in public and pre-IPO biotechnology companies.  Form 483 reports, which the hedge fund is seeking, describe plant-inspection observations made by the FDA. 

Read more here.

FOIA News: Litigation over EEO-1 reports continues

Ninth Circuit Decision on EEO-1 Reports Is In, But the Case Is Not Over

By Laura A. Mitchell, JacksonLewis, Jan. 13, 2026

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit case involving EEO-1 reports and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has taken another procedural turn. The court’s July 2025 decision in Center for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor upheld the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s finding that workforce composition data in federal contractors’ EEO-1 reports was not protected commercial information under FOIA’s Exemption 4 and as a result, OFCCP improperly withheld release of the reports. After a lengthy delay, the federal government declined to file for reconsideration and the Ninth Circuit’s decision became final December 29, 2025.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Dick Huff, founding OIP director, leads National FOIA Hall of Fame class of 2026

Sixteen inducted into 2026 National FOIA Hall of Fame

Brechner News, Jan, 13, 2026

Sixteen champions of government transparency will be inducted this March into the National FOIA Hall of Fame for their outstanding contributions to advancing the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Honorees include Richard L. Huff, founding director of what is now called the Office of Information Policy, Michael Morisy, co-founder of MuckRock, Kirsten Mitchell and Alina Semo of the Office of Government Information Services, and David McCraw, general counsel for The New York Times.

“These champions of transparency have dedicated themselves to improving U.S. FOIA, which is more important than ever,” said David Cuillier, director of the University of Florida Brechner Freedom of Information Project. “They are an inspiration to us all in advocating for more accountable government.”

Read more here.