Monthly Roundup: Feb. 2026

Below is a summary of the notable FOIA court decisions and news from last month, as well as a look ahead to FOIA events in March.

Court opinions

We posted and summarized 21 opinions in February. Of note, in Levin v. NHTSA (D.D.C.) the court rejected the agency’s reliance on the deliberative-process privilege after finding it failed to articulate any specific foreseeable harm from disclosure and instead relied on boilerplate assertions, ordering NHTSA to release records concerning its proposed guidelines on distracted driving. And in Aaronson v. DOJ (D.D.C.), the court rejected the FBI’s Glomar response for a pseudonymous employee because disclosure would not reveal any real individual’s identity; it therefore ordered additional searches for records concerning the FBI’s alleged impersonation of media members

Top news

• On February 23, 2026, Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the release of Volume II of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on the classified documents investigation involving Donald Trump. The ruling by Judge Cannon—which arose in parallel with ongoing FOIA litigation seeking the report—likely keeps it secret indefinitely.

• Early FY 2025 FOIA annual reports released in February showed increased request volumes and growing backlogs at several agencies, including NARA, the Dep’t of Transportation, and the Dep’t of Education.

March calendar

Mar. 1: Deadline for agencies to post FY 2025 annual reports

Mar. 5: FOIA Advisory Committee meeting.

Mar. 10: Hearing in Am. Transparency v. HHS, No. 21-02821 (D.D.C.) re: royalty payments to NIH scientists

Mar. 15-21: Sunshine Week

Mar. 15-17: Second annual Sunshine Fest

Mar. 16: “Freedom of Information Day”; Chief FOIA Officer Report publication deadline

Mar. 18: AFP Foundation Sixth Annual Sunshine Week Symposium

TBA: DOJ’s Sunshine Week award event

Monthly roundup: January 2026

Below is a summary of the notable FOIA court decisions and news from last month, as well as a look ahead to FOIA events in February.

Court opinions

We posted and summarized 17 opinions in January. Highlights include Am. First Legal Found. v. U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office (D.D.C.), in which the court held that the U.S. Government Accountability Office is not subject to FOIA because it is a legislative-branch agency. In Leopold v. DOJ (D.D.C. Jan. 15, 2026), on remand from the D.C. Circuit, the court found that DOJ established reasonably foreseeable harm to Exemption 8 interests if an independent monitor’s report were disclosed assessing HSBC Bank’s anti–money‑laundering and sanctions compliance program.

Top news

• EPA plans to rescind its regulation mandating expedited processing for FOIA requests and appeals involving environmental justice, as outlined in a proposed rule published on January 27th.

• On January 15th, the Defense Department eliminated its regulations pertaining to its Stars and Stripes newspaper following its solicitation of public comments in 2024 concerning the newspaper’s FOIA access rights, among other things.

• On January 20, 2026, records from the first Trump administration became subject to FOIA for the first time

• Effective January 22, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security ceased accepting paper or emailed FOIA requests.

• The National FOIA Hall of Fame, founded in 1996 by the First Amendment Center and now under the leadership of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project, inducted 16 new members, including OIP co-founder Richard Huff and the current OGIS Director, Alina Semo.

February calendar

Feb. 4: DOJ/OIP hosts Virtual Advanced Freedom of Information Act Training, 10:00am to 1:30pm EST.

Feb. 6: Deadline for agencies that received fewer than 100 requests in Fiscal Year 2024 to submit their 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to DOJ/OIP

Feb. 13: Deadline to submit nominations to the DOJ for the 2026 Sunshine Week FOIA Awards.