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.
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