FOIA News: USAID plans global "still interested" notice

According to a notice slated for publication in the Federal Register, the U.S. Agency for International Development (“USAID”) will be opening a global “still interested” inquiry for all FOIA requests submitted prior to January 20, 2025. Further details can be found in the notice. The notice indicated that, due to reorganization efforts, “[m]ost subject matter experts and record custodians are no longer available, which will particularly limits USAID’s ability to locate, review, and release records for prior year requests in a timely manner.”

The Department of Energy came under considerable fire last month when it announced it was undertaking the same type of global inquiry (see here and here) with an eye to administratively closing requests in the agency’s FOIA backlog. The agency’s efforts are now the subject of litigation brought by American Oversight.

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Two Tickets to Paradise

FOIA Specialist, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./USCG, GS 9, Falling Waters, WV, closes 9/22/25 (non-public).

Supv. Gen. Att’y, Fed. Trade Comm’n, GS 15, Wash., DC, closes 9/25/25 (public).

Court opinion issued Sept. 10, 2025

Hoffmann v. U.S. Customs & Border Prot. (E.D. Pa.) -- on renewed summary judgment, ruling that the government performed a reasonable search for communications related to migrant coordination at the Eagle Pass, Texas Port of Entry; further, finding that CBP’s inability to locate two relevant Samsung phones from 2019—one destroyed pursuant to routine data security protocols and the other unaccounted for despite extensive searches—did not reflect bad faith or intentional spoliation.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: Reminder of FOIA Advisory Committee mtg.

The federal FOIA Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term will meet on Thursday, September 11, 2025, at 10am. Meeting materials and a livestream link are here.

Court opinion issued Sept. 9, 2025

Usher v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- following in-camera review of 9 pages of records pertaining to antitrust proceedings against plaintiff, finding that DOJ improperly redacted portions of FBI interview notes under Exemption 3 in conjunction with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e); specifically, the court held that only statements explicitly identifying documents as grand jury exhibits could be withheld—not redacted content consisting of witness’s discussions about public market data or trading activity, which did not implicate a secret aspect of the grand jury’s investigation.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Recent vacancy announcements

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Def./DLA, GS 13, multiple locations, closes 9/14/25 (non-public).

Paralegal Specialist (FOIA/PA), Dep’t of Homeland Sec./ICE, GS 7-11, multiple locations, closes 9/19/25 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Air Force, NH 2, Scott AFB, Ill., closes 9/23/25 (non-public).

Court opinions issued Sept. 8, 2025

Greenspan v. DOT (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration properly withheld Tesla-related documents under Exemption 4 and that disclosure would cause foreseeable competitive harm to Tesla and undermine NHTSA’s ability to gather similar data; rejecting plaintiff’s argument that NHTSA’s delay in ruling on Tesla’s confidentiality requests meant the information should no longer be protected under FOIA; and (2) NHTSA properly relied on Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege to withhold to internal discussions on whether and how to investigate Tesla, and that disclosure would foreseeably harm agency decision-making by discouraging candid internal dialogue.

Zaid v. DHS (D. Md.) -- determining that: (1) ICE performed a reasonable search and properly withheld records under Exemption 7(A) due to their connection to active child exploitation investigations; and (2) ICE properly withheld identifying information about third parties under Exemptions 6 and 7(C), rejecting plaintiff’s argument that names of all ICE employees at GS-14 salary level or above must be disclosed.

New Orleans Navy Hous. v. U.S. Dep't of Navy (E.D. La.) -- in a case concerning records related to the management and funding of a military housing project, finding that the Navy properly withheld some records pursuant to Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege, but held that its foreseeable harm explanations and many of its Vaughn Index entries were insufficient; the court also rejected plaintiffs’ argument that the withheld documents related solely to contract administration and were therefore categorically outside the scope of the privilege.

Nat’l Pub. Radio v. U.S. Cen. Command (S.D. Cal.) -- in ongoing case concerning a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, tentatively ruling that plaintiff was both eligible and entitled to interim attorney’s fees and costs; further, tentatively deferring its decision as to the hours, costs and final amount appropriate and ordering parties to attend a settlement conference with magistrate judge.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: FOIA training for historians

The Organization for America Historians will host a FOIA training webinar on Friday, September 19, 2025, with presenters from American Oversight.

Historians will learn:

• The origins and basics of FOIA

• How to craft strong requests

• Strategies for navigating agency responses and appeals

• Case studies from American Oversight investigations

More details & registration here.

Court opinion issued Sept. 4, 2025

N.Y. Times v. DOJ (S.D.N.Y) -- holding that DOJ did not “improperly” withhold Volume II of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report concerning President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, because an injunction issued by a federal court in Florida prohibits the report’s release; rejecting plaintiff’s collateral attack on the the Florida court’s jurisdiction since its order had at least a colorable basis in protecting co-defendants’ fair trial rights and it was implicitly recognized by the Eleventh Circuit.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: Dep't of Energy sued over still-interested campaign

American Oversight Sues Trump Administration Over Unlawful Effort to Shut Down FOIA Requests

A new DOE policy burdens requesters by demanding proactive, duplicative confirmation of FOIA requests without notice.

Press Release, Am. Oversight, Sept. 3, 2025

On Wednesday, American Oversight filed suit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its unlawful attempt to evade its obligations to answer requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by requiring requesters to re-confirm their interest in pending FOIA requests — a move by the Trump administration that could result in countless unlawfully closed FOIA requests submitted by media outlets, nonpartisan organizations, and members of the public.

On August 14, DOE announced that those with FOIA requests submitted prior to October 1, 2024, must affirmatively email the agency within 30 days to keep those requests open. Requests that are not “confirmed” risk being closed, regardless of their importance to public interest or how long they have been pending. American Oversight’s lawsuit argues that this unlawful requirement exceeds DOE’s authority under FOIA, violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and undermines Congress’ clear intent that agencies process public records requests in a timely manner.

Read more here.