FOIA Advisor

Court opinions issued June 12, 2026

Court Opinions (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

Stevens v. DOJ (7th Cir.) (nonprecedential) -- affirming summary judgment for ICE and holding that challenges to the agency's search terms and the presumption of good faith were forfeited because they were raised for the first time on appeal; further, rejecting appellant’s argument that FOIA requires agencies to search the same locations in response to similar requests; and concluding that the requester failed to rebut the presumption that the agency's search declarations were submitted in good faith.

Schiff v. IRS (D.D.C.) -- granting in part and denying in part IRS's motion for reconsideration; reaffirming that the agency forfeited its argument that the request was unreasonably burdensome and that the request reasonably described the records sought; further, rejecting the IRS's attempt to supplement the record with additional declarations, concluding that the agency was not entitled to a "second bite at the apple" after failing to carry its burden at summary judgment; and modifying the remedy only to clarify that the IRS need produce only non-exempt records responsive to the request, leaving the case open for further proceedings.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: Op-ed spotlights FOIA's honor system

FOIA News (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

FOIA’s honor system is failing congressional oversight

By Dennis Buckovetz, Wash. Exam’r, June 12, 2026

n April, David Morens, a senior adviser to Anthony Fauci, was indicted on charges of allegedly destroying government records tied to COVID-19 origins research. According to the indictment, he deleted official communications and used personal email to evade Freedom of Information Act requests — even describing how to make emails “disappear” before searches began.

It is an extreme case. But it exposes a problem that should concern every member of Congress: FOIA operates, in practice, as an honor system.

Read more here.

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Seventh Heaven?

Jobs jobs jobs (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./HQ, GS 7-9, Wash., DC, closes 6/18/26 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./HQ, GS 7-9, Wash., DC, closes 6/18/26 (public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/OFAC, GS 14, Wash., DC, closes 6/18/26 (public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Veterans Affairs/VHA, GS 12, Alexandria, LA, closes 6/22/26 (internal agency).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Veterans Affairs/VHA, GS 12, Philadelphia, PA, closes 6/22/26 (internal agency).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Transp./FAA, FG 12-13, closes 7/2/26 (internal agency).

Trial Att’y (FOIA Counsel), Dep’t of Justice/USTP, GS 14-15, Wash., DC, closes 7/14/26 (public).

FOIA News: GAO catches agency off guard

FOIA News (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

A new report from the Government Accountability Office warns that the National Guard Bureau is struggling to track and answer Freedom of Information Act requests accurately. GAO investigators found that the agency frequently reports incorrect data and misses its 20-day response deadlines due to severe understaffing and poor internal communication. These mistakes make it difficult for Congress and the public to see how bad the backlogs really are. Defense officials have agreed to fix these problems by implementing six specific improvements recommended in the report.

Court opinions issued June 4-5, 2026

Court Opinions (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

June 5, 2026

Carter v. DOJ (D.D.C.) — finding that FBI performed an adequate search for records concerning electronically submitted complaints and tips, and properly withheld records under Exemptions 6, 7(C), and 7(E) to protect the identities of Special Agents and non-public investigative techniques and databases.

June 4, 2026

Byrne v. NSA (N.D. Cal.) -- ruling that: (1) NSA performed an adequate search for records concerning Vietnam-era covert operations by relying on detailed agency declarations and reasonably tailored search terms; (2) FBI properly withheld responsive records under Exemptions 1 and 3 to protect intelligence sources, methods, and capabilities.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.

Court opinions issued June 3, 2026

Court Opinions (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

Am. Ctr. For Law & Justice v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- in case concerning FBI interactions with social media platforms about 2020 election interference, granting summary judgment for FBI and ruling that: (1) FBI properly withheld records under Exemption 5's deliberative process privilege, including factual material assembled through exercise of judgment and inextricably intertwined with exempt information; (2) FBI established reasonably foreseeable harm through chilling effect on internal deliberations; and (3) FBI properly withheld records under Exemption 7(E) and satisfied foreseeable harm by showing disclosure could enable foreign adversaries to anticipate and evade agency’s investigative methods.

Martin v. DHS (E.D. Va.) -- dismissing FOIA complaint with prejudice where immigration detainee seeking transcript and audiotape from her removal hearing failed to plausibly allege she filed a proper request with defendant before filing suit.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.

Court opinion issued June 1, 2026

Court Opinions (2026)Allan BlutsteinComment

Korf v. U.S. Dep’t of State (S.D. Fla) -- magistrate judge recommending summary judgment for plaintiffs in case involving records of the nationalization of PrivatBank in Ukraine, related fraud and misconduct, and associated individuals and entities, as well as plaintiffs; in most relevant part, ordering State Department to process 5,000 pages monthly with 60-day status reports and rejecting as “unreasonable” State Department’s proposed 300-page monthly processing rate that would take over 22 years to complete, noting that State Department had made no productions for more than two years preceding filing of suit.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.