FOIA Advisor

Court opinions issued July 13, 2020

Court Opinions (2015-2024)Allan BlutsteinComment

Talley v. DOL (W.D. Mo.) -- concluding that: (1) plaintiff’s claims were barred by res judicata because D.C. Circuit previously held that disputed records were properly withheld and plaintiff was serving as proxy for, and was in privity with, plaintiff in D.C. Circuit case; and (2) even if res judicata did not bar plaintiff’s claims, agency properly withheld records as privileged under Exemption 4.

Campo v. DOJ (W.D. Mo.) -- ruling that: (1) DOJ properly declined to search for third-party records in absence of subject’s written consent or proof of his death because records were protected by Exemptions 6 and 7(C), and plaintiff failed to demonstrate that public interest in disclosure outweighed subject’s privacy interests; (2) even if Exemptions 6 and 7(C) did not apply, requested records were protected as privileged under Exemption 4.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

FOIA News: DOJ granted delay on Mueller Report

FOIA News (2015-2025)Allan BlutsteinComment

Judge Orders DOJ to Explain Its Secret Portions of the Mueller Report by Next Week

By Aaron Keller, Law & Crime, July 13, 3020

A federal judge on Monday granted a Justice Department request to delay providing detailed answers to questions about former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s full, unredacted Russia report.

The judge, Reggie B. Walton, previously read the entire Mueller report and ordered the DOJ to answer a spreadsheet full of questions about the report’s publicly hidden contents. Responses are now due next Tuesday, July 21, one week after the previous deadline.

Read more here.

FOIA News: More federal FOIA jobs

FOIA News (2015-2025)Allan BlutsteinComment

Court opinions issued July 9, 2020

Court Opinions (2015-2024)Allan BlutsteinComment

Hohner v. DOJ (9th Cir.) (unpublished) -- affirming district court’s decision that Immigration & Customs Enforcement properly withheld records that were subject to a 1998 sealing order issued by federal court.that later clarified that sealing order was intended to prohibit disclosure.

The New York Times v. CIA (2nd Cir.) -- affirming district court’s decision that that CIA properly relied on Exemptions 1 and 3 in refusing to confirm or deny existence of records of covert program of arming and training rebel forces in Syria, and that statements by President Trump and a U.S. Special Operations Commander did not undermine agency’s Glomar response.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

FOIA News: NYT loses suit for CIA records re: Syrian rebels

FOIA News (2015-2025)Allan BlutsteinComment

CIA Beats New York Times’ FOIA Bid Over Syrian Rebel Program

  • Majority says ‘lingering doubts’ remain about program’s existence

  • Dissent says Trump tweet acknowledged payments to Syrian rebels

Bloomberg Law, July 9, 2020

The Central Intelligence Agency won’t have to tell the New York Times whether it has documents related to a covert program of arming and training rebel forces in Syria, after the Second Circuit found the agency didn’t waive its right to claim a FOIA exemption.

Public statements about the program by President Donald Trump and a military commander didn’t strip the CIA of the claimed exemption because the statements didn’t officially acknowledge or declassify the existence of such a program, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Thursday.

Read more here (accessible with subscription).