FOIA News: House Oversight investigating use of unofficial communications

House Committee Wants to Know if Federal Employees Are Skirting FOIA Laws

By Ian Smith, FedSmith, Mar. 9, 2017

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent letters to 55 different federal agencies this week seeking information on federal employees’ use of unofficial government communication methods.

The Committee has become concerned about recent reports that federal workers are using alternate means of communication such as personal email accounts or encrypted messaging applications. The letter notes that if this is done, such as with using a personal email account, the Federal Records Act requires that the employee copy the message to his or her official account within 20 days to preserve the official government record.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Reason.com on the Leopold vs. NSA FOIA Fight

Feds Blame 'Self-Styled FOIA Terrorist' for Their Own Stonewalling

By CJ Ciaramella, Reason, Mar. 9, 2017

BuzzFeed News reporter Jason Leopold is a prodigious Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requester who files hundreds of public records requests and dozens of lawsuits a year against federal agencies. In fact, the only news organization that filed more FOIA lawsuits against the government last year was The New York Times.

Most transparency advocates and journalists would think of this as a feather in Leopold's cap, but according to government lawyers, filing too many lawsuits against agencies for failing to abide by federal records law is a good reason to delay further transparency.

U.S. Justice Department lawyers filed a motion Monday in response to one of Leopold's many FOIA lawsuits, asking a federal court to allow the National Security Agency to delay releasing a large tranche of documents to him, citing in part his extensive litigation to get public records.

Read more here.

Court opinion issued Mar. 5, 2017

House v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (D.D.C.) -- granting government's renewed motion for summary judgment after determining that the Criminal Division performed an adequate search for records concerning plaintiff's criminal prosecution.  

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.

Q&A: Warrants? I don't have to show you no stinkin' warrants!

Q.   If a U.S. citizen was the subject of a FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] warrant and, in the end, it was concluded that he or she was not guilty of anything, can that person request to see the application for the warrant, the material collected, and other related documents?  If so, who would he or she contact?

A.  Most of the filings and orders of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court are classified.  Moreover, as a federal court, it is outside the reach of the Freedom of Information Act.  The FOIA does apply to intelligence agencies that interact with the court, e.g., the Department of Justice's National Security Division, FBI, and National Security Agency, but they frequently refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records about named individuals or organizations. 

FOIA News: FOIA, the Park Service, and inauguration crowd photos

It took FOIA for Park Service to release photos of Obama, Trump inauguration crowd sizes

Deena Zaru, CNN, Mar. 7, 2017

Washington (CNN)The National Park Service has released a series of aerial and ground shots that show the crowd sizes during the last three presidential inaugurations in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from various media outlets.

The images show the crowd sizes of President Barack Obama's 2009 and 2013 inaugurations, as well as President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. The turnout represented in the photos for Trump's inauguration was smaller than that of his predecessor. The Park Service did not indicate the precise times that the photos were taken.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Postal Service revises FOIA regs

The Postal Service has again amended its FOIA regulations to update and correct cross references and citations.  The final rule was published in today's issue of the Federal Register.

FOIA News: Conservative Watchdog Files FOIA Suit Over Flynn Docs

Conservative Watchdog Files FOIA Suit Over Flynn Docs

By Shayna Posses, Law360, Mar. 7, 2017

Judicial Watch Inc. filed a Freedom of Information Act suit in D.C. federal court Monday, alleging several federal agencies haven’t responded to the conservative watchdog’s request for records related to the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s alleged discussions with a Russian official.

Read more here. (Subscription)

FOIA News: Sunshine Week events in D.C.

Monday, March 13:    

10am-noon:   Department of Justice Sunshine Week 2017 Celebration

1pm-4:30pm:   Sunshine Week 2017 at the National Archives

Tuesday, March 14

9am-noon:   Department of Commerce National Sunshine Week Kickoff Event, Strengthening Transparency through Open Data and Access to Information

6:30-9pm:   DC Open Government Summit and Reception

Wednesday, Mar. 15

1:30pm:   American Library Association James Madison Award Ceremony

Thursday, March 16

6-8pm:   Society of Professional Journalists, Cops & Cameras: privacy, transparency and limitations

Court opinion issued Mar. 2, 2017

Parker v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enf't (D.D.C.) -- deciding that ICE failed to perform an adequate search for certain records concerning its investigation of plaintiff, and that the agency properly withheld certain information pursuant to Exemptions 7(C) and 7(E).

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.

FOIA News: Postal Regulatory Commission issues final FOIA regs

Yesterday the Postal Regulatory Commission issued a final rule amending its FOIA regulations in accordance with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.  The amended regulations are effective April 5, 2017.