Manna v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- Dismissing case as moot because the FBI released requested videotape in full after plaintiff filed suit. The court rejected plaintiff's argument that the FBI should have construed request to include records that are the subject of plaintiff's separate FOIA requests, which plaintiff had cited as background information.
List of all cases since April 2015 here.
During a presentation last Thursday at the American Society for Access Professionals, the Office of Government Information Services announced that it was planning to assess the FOIA operations of six components of the Department of Homeland Security: the Transportation Security Administration; Customs and Border Protection; Secret Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Federal Emergency Management Agency; and the Coast Guard.
Representatives from OGIS and DHS indicated at the ASAP presentation that DHS had reached out to OGIS and volunteered to be assessed. OGIS is aiming to complete the assessments by approximately September 30, 2015, the end of the fiscal year.
OGIS thus far has issued two FOIA assessments pertaining to its parent agency, the National Archives and Records Administration. OGIS assesses FOIA programs by reviewing a variety of sources, including:
Read more about OGIS's review methodology here.
By Josh Gerstein, POLITICO, May 13, 2015
A federal judge is giving the State Department until September to comply with a conservative group's request for records relating to correspondence between top aides to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, as well as a consulting business involving former Clinton staffers.
At a hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said he felt both sides in the case—the government and the Citizens United organization—were not being flexible enough in hammering out a path forward in the Freedom of Information Act dispute.
"You're being unreasonable," Sullivan told lawyers for both parties. He said he understood the State Department was being "flooded" with records requests in the wake of the revelation in March of Clinton's use of a personal email account as her sole account while serving as secretary, but that didn't mean it could keep forestalling Citizens United's requests, made last year.
Read more here.
Elkins v. FAA (D.D.C.) -- Dismissing lawsuit in part because plaintiff filed it before the FAA was obligated to respond to one of his FOIA requests. With respect to plaintiff's second FOIA request, the court found that the FAA's search was "commendable" but ultimately inadequate, because the agency's declaration failed to state "that all files likely to contain responsive records were searched or that no other offices would likely contain responsive documents." Further, the court upheld the FAA's use of Exemption 7(E) to withhold an FAA Order that the court had previously reviewed in camera in a related lawsuit. The court, however, ordered the FAA to release an aircraft radar plot because the FAA failed to demonstrate how such information was compiled for law-enforcement purposes. Lastly, the court rejected plaintiff's motion to depose certain FAA officials, because plaintiff offered "no compelling reason" for his request.
Alvin v. DOJ (M.D. Al.) -- Adopting Magistrate's recommendation to dismiss case on grounds that: (1) plaintiff's administrative FOIA appeal was untimely filed, notwithstanding the fact that it was mailed before deadline and agency error delayed plaintiff's receipt of agency's initial determination; and (2) agency reasonably demonstrated that it did not received plaintiff's second FOIA request and plaintiff offered no proof that he actually submitted it.
List of all cases since April 2015 here.
Federal Records Agency’s Top Lawyer Expressed “Concern,” Surprise At Clinton’s Private Email Use, Internal Emails Reveal
By Andrew Kaczynski and IIan Ben-Meir, Buzzfeed, May 12, 2015
The top lawyer for the National Archives expressed concern in internal emails, obtained by BuzzFeed News, over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s exclusive use of personal email.
The agency, the top records-keeping authority in the federal government, was not aware of Clinton’s personal email usage until the New York Times reported on the issue in March, a spokeswoman told BuzzFeed News on Tuesday.
The internal emails, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, show Gary Stern, the general counsel at NARA, expressing some concern and surprise after a phone conversation with New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt, who broke the story. That conversation took place in March, months after Clinton’s staff sent email records to the State Department.
Read more here.
State Dept. can’t fulfill your FOIA because it’s overwhelmed by Hillary e-mails
By Al Kamen, Washington Post, May 12, 2015
The State Department’s latest defense on why it can’t comply with your ancient Freedom of Information request for documents is: Blame it on Hillary.
State says its document-reviewing personnel is too overwhelmed by reviewing those 55,000 pages of e-mails former secretary Hillary Clinton turned over last year to do much else.
That apparently means other folks, who’ve waited years on their requests for State Department documents, are being told they’ll have to wait even longer because of the Clinton review.
Read more here.
Last year, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) held up a FOIA reform bill that had broad bipartisan report, reportedly due in part to objections lodged by the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Today, Shawn Musgrave at MuckRock posted FOIA-obtained emails between the FTC and Congressional staff that sheds light on the agency's concerns.
Docs obtained by @ShawnMusgrave has comms btwn @FTC & Sen Rockefeller on #FOIA bill https://t.co/kpb5ofy0Va pic.twitter.com/g4feJiXcht
— Kevin Schmidt (@KevinSchmidt8) May 12, 2015
The #FOIA bill passed the Senate, (emails show Rockefeller realized FTC's claims didn't hold water) but the delay ultimately killed passage.
— NSA Nate (@NSANate) May 12, 2015
Also: Jeanne Bumpus, the FTC's Dir. of Congressional Relations appears use improper private email server, http://t.co/S7ZV2wiGXh #FOIA
— NSA Nate (@NSANate) May 12, 2015
FTC called itself "small fry" in debate on widely supported bipartisan #FOIA bill,tried 2 kill it 4 everyone anyway https://t.co/Eo7stcNxzU
— NatlSecurityArchive (@NSArchive) May 12, 2015
@POGOBlog on @MuckRock's most amusing (IMO) #FOIA response. http://t.co/fN18lSxEzr
— Liz Hempowicz (@lizzy_loo_hoo) May 12, 2015
See records here.
Press Release, Judicial Watch, May 11, 2015
Judicial Watch announced that a U.S. District Court reopened a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking documents regarding the State Department’s production and dissemination of an advertisement intended to air in Pakistan entitled “A Message from the President of the United States Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton” (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:12-cv-02034)). U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton issued the ruling on Friday, May 8, in response to a joint motion by Judicial Watch and the State Department.
In its joint motion, Judicial Watch and the State Department asked that the lawsuit be reopened under a federal court rule allowing a case to be reopened due to "newly discovered evidence."
Remainder of press release here.
On May 13, 2015, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency will meet to further consider H.R. 1615, the DHS FOIA Efficiency Act of 2015. This legislation would require DHS to, among other things, update its FOIA regulations, develop a plan to automate the processing of FOIA requests, and issue internal guidance concerning the goal of reducing the backlog of FOIA requests by 50 percent between fiscal years 2015 and 2018. The Committee's press release is available here.
Gahagan v. USCIS (5th Cir.) (unpublished opinion) -- Vacating district court's judgment in favor of agency and remanding for further proceedings, because the district court had not considered the actions of another DHS component on records referred to it by USCIS in response to plaintiff's FOIA request.
List of all cases since April 2015 here.
May 12, 2015:
DHS HQ, Gov't Info. Specialist (open to U.S. citizens)
MSPB, Director of Info. Services Team (open to U.S. citizens)
May 15, 2015:
Fed. Aviation Admin., Gov't Info. Specialist (open to U.S. citizens)
FDA, Gov't Info. Specialist (feds and former feds only)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., Gov't Info. Specialist (feds and former feds only)
May 19, 2015:
Dep't of State, Lead Gov't Info. Specialist (Dep't of State employees only)
IRS, Disclosure Specialist (IRS employees only)
TSA, Supervisory Gov't Info. Specialist (feds and former feds only)
Veterans Health Admin., Gov't Info. Specialist (VHA employees only)