FOIA News: FBI must process request re: NSBA letter

FBI ordered to release documents about bureau's response to NSBA letter

By Jeremiah Poff, Wash. Exam’r, Apr. 17, 2023

The FBI must comply with a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records about the bureau's response to a 2021 letter from the National School Boards Association that labeled parent protesters domestic terrorists, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled.

In the four-page order, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden said last week that the Department of Justice had "dragged its feet" in responding to a FOIA request filed by the government watchdog group Protect the Public's Trust that sought records from the FBI and other DOJ entities about their response to a September 2021 letter from the NSBA that requested the Biden administration and the DOJ investigate protests and threats against school board members under federal domestic terrorism laws.

Read more here.

See case docket and orders here.

Court opinion issued Apr. 14, 2023

Heritage Found. v. EPA (D.D.C.) -- denying plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in connection with its request for expedited processing of its request for records concerning a freight-train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; reasoning that although one of the plaintiffs appeared to qualify as a person primarily engaged in disseminating information, plaintiffs did not demonstrate that they were likely to succeed on the merits as to whether there was an “urgency to inform the public” or that plaintiffs would suffer “irreparable harm.”

Cunningham v. HUD (E.D. Pa.) -- dismissing with prejudice plaintiff’s FOIA claims against individual employees and for money damages, but permitting plaintiff to amend complaint that failed to allege that he had exhausted his administrative remedies.

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

FOIA News: CIA issues updated FOIA regulations

Following a public comment period last year, the Central Intelligence Agency has finalized amendments to its Freedom of Information Act regulations. The amendments, which are set forth in a Federal Register notice scheduled to be published on April 17, 2023. are effective immediately.

FOIA News: FOIA presentation on April 20

On April 20, 2023, the Omaha News Academy of Flatwater Free Press is sponsoring a 90-minute FOIA presentation entitiled “Freedom of Information Act: Challenges, Opportunities and Tips.” The presenters are Sara Gentzler, a reporter for Flatwater Free Press in Omaha, and Carol Zuegner, a journalist and Creighton University professor. Additional details available here.

FOIA News: Attorney concedes error; refiles new suit

MoneyGram Atty Refiles As Plaintiff After CFPB Rips FOIA Suit

By Anna Bongardino, Law360, Apr. 14, 2023

A Vinson & Elkins partner representing MoneyGram in a records request suit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dropped the company's suit and launched a new complaint naming himself as the plaintiff in response to the agency's argument in its dismissal bid that the request was filed by the money services giant's attorney instead of the company itself.

Read more here (access with free subscription).

FOIA News: Coalition of media companies sues for Jan. 6 tapes given to Fox News' Tucker Carlson

Coalition of media companies sues for Jan. 6 tapes given to Fox News' Tucker Carlson

By Megan Lebowitz, NBC News, Apr. 12, 2023

A coalition of nine media companies, including CNN, The New York Times and Politico, have sued for copies of the surveillance videos from the Capitol riot that Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave exclusively to Fox News.

In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, the media companies demanded that the Justice Department's Office for U.S. Attorneys and the FBI "promptly" provide copies of the footage from Jan. 6, which they characterized as "the most significant assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812."

Read more here.

Q&A: Money problems

Q. Are payments to federal government contractors—e.g., dates, recipient names, and dollar amounts—exempt under FOIA?

A. This will be an unsatisfying response: “maybe, but probably not.” The burden is on the agency, of course, to establish that any exemption applies. Exemption 4 springs to mind as one possible ground for protecting some of the information you’ve inquired about, particularly the “dollar amounts.” Even if that exemption applies, however, the agency would also have to demonstrate that it “reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm” the contractor’s financial interests. That might be difficult because the total amount of a government contract is nearly always published. If the payment amounts could reveal a contractor’s hourly rates or unit prices, the government would have a stronger case for withholding.

As for recipient names, it’s unclear whether you mean the names of the contracting companies or the names of specific individuals who works for the contractors. Disclosing the former information would probably be less complicated. I use the qualifier “probably” because in one notable case that remains pending, contractors that manufactures a drug used in federal executions argue that the names of their companies are protected from disclosure under FOIA. See Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. DOJ (D.C. Cir. 2023).

FOIA News: Pfizer and Moderna are FOIA Targets

FOIAengine Reveals Plaintiffs’ Lawyers, Anti-Vaxxers in the Hunt

By John A. Jenkins, Law Street, Apr. 5, 2023

Who might be contemplating getting a jump on Covid litigation once the moratorium expires?  This week, FOIAengine takes a look at some who are bombarding the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies with Freedom of Information Act document demands about Pfizer and Moderna.  There are so many noteworthy FOIA demands that we’ll return to this again next week. 

Read more here.

Court opinion issued Apr. 6, 2023

Jordan v. DEA (D.D.C.) -- ruling that pro se prisoner’s request was improper because it essentially asked DEA to provide answers to questions plaintiff had about agency’s investigation, as opposed to asking for certain documents; rejecting plaintiff’s attempt to clarify and expand scope of his request to any records that pertained to his initial inquiries; and stating in dicta that if merits of the withholdings had been reached, agency’s categorical approach to withholding the names of all law enforcement agents under Exemption 7(C) would have been improper, despite the “substantial privacy” interests involved.

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

FOIA News: Reporters Committee Sunsets iFOIA Platform

We’re sunsetting iFOIA. Here’s what you need to know.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Apr. 5, 2023
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press created iFOIA in 2013 to provide people a simpler way to create, file, and manage FOIA requests. We’re proud to share that since its creation, thousands of users have filed more than 11,000 public record requests and exchanged tens of thousands of communications with government agencies through iFOIA.

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We’re not software developers or engineers — we’re attorneys, and the need for legal services is only growing.
For that reason, the Reporters Committee is sunsetting iFOIA as of August 2023. No new requests can be submitted as of April 30, 2023.

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We will send you a monthly reminder about the retirement, through July, and iFOIA will be retired in August. If you have any questions about this process, please email ifoia@rcfp.org.