FOIA News: More on the "National FOIA Portal"

Government is one step closer to a one-stop shop for FOIA requesters

By Samantha Ehlinger, fedscoop, Apr. 21, 2017

Digital services group 18F is is going to help develop the government’s centralized portal for Freedom of Information Act requests, according to the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy, who will collaborate with them on the project.

The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 signed into law last year mandated the creation of a centralized portal — one place for people to go to submit a request for records from any agency. The act also requires the portal be interoperable with request processing software agencies are using.

Melanie Pustay, director of the Office of Information Policy at DOJ, said Thursday that the office had secured $1.3 million in funding for the project, dubbed the National FOIA Portal, adding “we’re happy obviously with that amount.”

Read more here.

FOIA News: "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" Provides FOIA Tutorial

Full Frontal Gives Us a Hot New FOIA Tutorial for Spring

Almee Lutkin, Jezebel, Apr. 20, 2017

Here’s some good, clean fun for people considering getting into make up tutorials on YouTube or filing FOIA reports with the government. It’s a very gentle introduction to both.

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee shared this video of writer Ashley Nicole Black cheerfully leading viewers through the process of filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act, allowing them to access records on their government for big scoops or their own intel. “It’s a totally basic look that anyone can do,” says Black.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Judicial Watch Sues IRS Over Email Preservation

Judicial Watch Sues IRS Over Email Preservation

WBIW, Apr. 20, 2017

Judicial Watch announced Tuesday that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain records relating to the agency's "preservation and/or retention" of the email records of officials who have left the agency since January 2010. (Judicial Watch v. Internal Revenue Service (No.1:17-cv-00596)).

The suit was filed as part of Judicial Watch's continuing efforts to gain information about the IRS' targeting of conservative groups and citizens during the Obama administration.

Read more here.

FOIA News: DOJ OIP asks for assistance on National FOIA Portal

OIP Seeks Your Participation In The Development Of The National FOIA Portal

April 19, 2017

Today, OIP is pleased to announce its collaboration with GSA’s 18F team on the development of a National FOIA Portal.

This is the next step in a long line of OIP initiatives working towards a National FOIA Portal going back to 2010 with the launch of FOIA.gov. Most recently, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 required the creation of a National FOIA Portal that is interoperable with agencies’ current systems and allows the public to submit a request for records to any agency from a single website.

FOIA requesters and agency personnel: your participation will be key to the success of this portal. Building off previous work and research with FOIA users, OIP and 18F will focus on user research and discovery of issues necessary to inform future development. If you’re interested in joining the effort and providing feedback throughout the process, please email us at NationalFOIAPortal@usdoj.gov(link sends e-mail) by April 28, 2017.

Read more here.

Court opinion issued Apr. 17, 2017

Am. Ctr. for Law & Justice v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- dismissing requester's "policy or practice" claim that alleged agency had an "impermissible practice, policy, and pattern of [intentionally issuing] untimely and noncompliant FOIA responses," but otherwise allowing "basic FOIA challenge related to one particular request" to proceed.

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.

FOIA News: FBI sued for records on Trump dossier

FBI Hounded Over Spy Who Drew Up Trump Dossier

Tim Ryan, Courthouse News Service,  April 18, 2017

WASHINGTON (CN) – The conservative-driven Cause of Action Institute has brought a federal complaint to access FBI records on the former British spy who prepared a salacious dossier on President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.

Specifically, the institute seeks records under the Freedom of Information Act “evidencing … whether the FBI paid, or caused to be paid, money to Christopher Steele for any purpose.”

Read more here.

FOIA News: Conservatives Press Feds for Docs on Intelligence Handling

Conservatives Press Feds for Docs on Intelligence Handling

By Britain Eakin, Courthouse News Service, April 14, 2017

A conservative legal advocacy group on Wednesday sued the National Security Agency and the office of the Director of National Intelligence in federal court for information about agency procedures guiding the handling of raw signals intelligence.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which describes itself in the April 12 complaint as an organization dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties, had asked the intelligence agencies for the information to shed more light on what it claims was improper unmasking of Trump campaign associates by the Obama administration.

The group alleges that both agencies, which are named as defendants in the lawsuit, have failed to adequately respond to its Feb. 24 FOIA requests.

Read more here.

FOIA News: EPIC sues IRS over Trump's tax returns

EPIC sues IRS over Trump's tax returns

By Rebecca Morin, Politico, April 15, 2017

The Electronic Privacy Information Center on Saturday sued the IRS for failing to release President Donald Trump's tax returns.

In a FOIA request to the IRS dated March 29, the advocacy group explained that releasing Trump's tax returns may "correct misstatements of fact" and ensure the “integrity and fairness" of the tax system.

Read more here.

Q&A: I just called to say . . .

Q.  Recently I filed a FOIA request/complaint to the Salisbury, NC police department, which arrested me for DWI.  At trial, two police officers testified that they dialed a telephone number for me and overheard me tell my girlfriend that I was sorry for wrecking her vehicle.  But I did not ask the police to dial any number for me. And I did not speak with my alleged girlfriend.  In fact, I spoke with a lawyer.  I first spoke to the lawyer's wife and she let me talk to her husband, the lawyer.  I was convicted and sentenced to 1 year in prison.  When I got out, I tried my best to obtain records about the telephone number and was denied at every level.  So, I filed a FOIA request to the police department and the sheriff's office to obtain records concerning the telephone number.  I have been given the run around.  

A.  Because your criminal case has been settled for more than a decade (see court opinion), the main issues here are whether the information you seek was reduced to writing and whether such documentation still exists.  If so, I am not aware of any statutory exemptions that would prevent the local law enforcement authorities from releasing the requested information to you. 

FOIA News: White House to stop voluntary release of visitor logs

White House Says It Will No Longer Release Visitor Logs To The Public

By Merritt Kennedy, NPR, Apr. 14, 2017

The Trump administration says it will not make public the names of those visiting the White House, reversing the Obama administration's policy.

White House communications director Michael Dubke said in a statement that the decision was due to the "the grave national security risks and privacy concerns of the hundreds of thousands of visitors annually," NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Dubke added that the logs would be disclosed "as outlined under the Freedom of Information Act." FOIA does not apply to the president or his immediate staff.

Read more here.