FOIA News: BuzzFeed Files FOIA Lawsuit Over CIA's Syria Records

BuzzFeed Says Trump Tweet Opens CIA's Syria Docs to FOIA

Chuck Stanley, Law360, Oct. 20, 2017

Law360, Washington (October 20, 2017, 4:35 PM EDT) -- A senior investigative reporter for BuzzFeed News on Thursday filed suit against the CIA in D.C. federal court seeking documents related to alleged U.S. payments to Syrian rebels referenced in a July tweet by President Donald Trump.

The CIA has failed to indicate whether it will comply with a Sept. 12 Freedom of Information Act request from BuzzFeed reporter Jason Leopold regarding documents related to alleged payments from the agency to Syrian rebels, which Trump appeared to publicly acknowledge in a July 24 tweet complaining about...

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FOIA News: Recap of FOIA Advisory Committee meeting

Can FOIA be fixed?

By Chase Gunter. FCW, Oct. 20, 2017

A federal advisory committee that includes members of open government groups is looking to make the Freedom of Information Act work more smoothly for agencies and for those requesting information through the law.

Convened by the Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives, the FOIA groups have been meeting regularly since they were established in 2014. At an Oct. 19 meeting, three subcommittees offered ideas on how agencies can do better at locating FOIA materials, managing requests and making proactive disclosures.

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Court opinion issued Oct. 19, 2017

Wren v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) Drug Enforcement Administration was not required to create list of cases in which Special Agency had testified; and (2) pro se plaintiff-inmate was not entitled to fees or costs even though DEA released records about Special Agent after unilaterally changing position during litigation, because disclosure was primarily in plaintiff's interest and agency's initial withholding had a "colorable basis in law."

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

FOIA News: Delaware AG Changes State FOIA Policy Based on D.C. Circuit in CEI v. OSTP

Recent Decisions Reflect Diverging Views on Disclosing Records Held in Government Officials' Private Email Accounts

Alexander Ziccardi & Michael Berry, Nat'l Law Review, Oct. 19, 2017

In recent years, the battle over government transparency has opened up a new front—private email accounts. The press and transparency advocates have argued that records kept in a government official's private email account should be accessible through state open records requests if they relate to government business. Some government agencies, however, have been reluctant to hand over such records, contending that emails residing in private accounts are not government records. Last week, the Delaware Attorney General's Office became the latest body to weigh in on this issue.

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FOIA News: NYT Files FOIA Lawsuit Over Trump Transition Visitor Logs

Times Fights to See Trump Transition Team's Log of Visitors

Josh Russell, Courthouse News, Oct. 19, 2017

MANHATTAN (CN) – Clamoring to learn who met with the Trump-Pence Transition Team in their Washington offices ahead of Inauguration Day, The New York Times brought a federal complaint to access U.S. Secret Service’s visitors log.

Though the Times says the logs are public documents subject to the Freedom of Information Act, the Secret Service shot the request down under the Presidential Records Act, putting the logs under the exclusive legal custody and control of the White House.

In-house attorney David McCraw filed the 5-page complaint for the Times and reporter Nicholas Confessore late Monday.

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FOIA News: OGIS Dispute Resolution Skills Training Session

Grab Your Seat for Our November 16 Dispute Resolution Skills Training Session!

Nat'l Archives & Records Admin., The FOIA Ombudsman, Oct. 18, 2017

Registration is now open for our November 16 Dispute Resolution Skills for FOIA Professionals training session. Space is limited and seats fill up fast, so make sure you act now to reserve your spot for this free training!

This training is intended to teach FOIA professionals practical communication skills to help them understand and resolve disputes – skills that can improve not only your communications with FOIA requesters, but also with your agency colleagues, and even your friends and family. We also give training participants a chance to test drive their skills and fine tune their approach through activities and a role playing exercise.

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Court opinion issued Oct. 17, 2017

Cornucopia Inst. v. USDA (D.D.C.) -- determining that agency performed adequate search for investigatory records concerning certain organic corporations and that it properly withheld records pursuant to Exemptions 5, 6, 7(C), and 7(E).

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here. 

FOIA News: DHS IG finds no political interference in FOIA decisions

Audit Finds No Political Interference in FOIA Responses at DHS

FedWeek, Oct. 18, 2017

A DHS policy giving political appointees advance notice that the department is about to release information under a significant FOIA request has not resulted in interference with decisions regarding release of information but it has that potential, an IG audit has said.

The goal of the advance notice is to give high-ranking officials a chance to “prepare for media inquiries or possible litigation,” a report said.

The report was a followup to one of 2011 that concluded that appointees might have improperly delayed or withheld releases of information. Since then, the department has reduced the notice from three days to one, and FOIA processors no longer wait for approval before releasing responses to such requests.

Read more here.

IG audit available here.

FOIA News: AGs sue Homeland Security for failing to open immigration files

Oregon, Nine Other States Sue Feds Over Failure to Release Info On Immigrant Detention and Deportation

Federal agencies have ignored state requests for information on DACA and enforcement activity at sensitive locations.

By Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week, Oct. 17, 2017

Oregon and nine other states sued federal agencies in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts today, alleging the feds have failed to produce information about immigration crackdowns in timely fashion.

On June 10, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and her peers from nine other states, including Washington and California, filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request,asking Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for details on their activities. (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, the co-owner of WW's parent company.)

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FOIA News: BuzzFeed Sues DOJ For Names In Ex-US Atty's Office Affair

BuzzFeed Sues DOJ For Names In Ex-US Atty's Office Affair

By Dave Simpson, Law360, Oct. 16, 2017

BuzzFeed hit the U.S. Department of Justice with a Freedom of Information Act complaint in New York federal court Monday, urging the government agency to reveal the names of the former U.S. attorney and a subordinate who were involved in an affair.

BuzzFeed Inc. claims that the DOJ did not address any of the arguments the media company made in its appeal for the names, which were redacted from a May investigation report, to be made public.

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