How Journalists Use FOIA as an Investigative Tool
By John A. Jenkins, Law St. Media, Feb. 11, 2026
* * *
The media requests to the FDA (through December, the most recent month available) span a wide range of subjects – from adverse-event case files and manufacturing inspections to senior officials’ calendars, ethics disclosures, and communications with politically active outside groups.
But the requests also share a common purpose: reconstructing how decisions were made, who influenced them, and whether warning signs were missed or ignored.
The filings reflect how journalists increasingly are turning to FOIA not merely to obtain isolated documents, but to map decision-making ecosystems: Who raised concerns internally? When did leadership become aware? Which outside actors had access? And how did those dynamics shape regulatory outcomes?
At the FDA, the most concentrated and consequential set of requests centered on drug safety surveillance and internal deliberations surrounding GLP-1 medications.
Read more here.