FOIA Advisor

FOIA News: HHS defends withholding sexual abuse records

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Feds Ask 2nd Circ. To Block Report On IHS Doctor Abuse

Law360, Feb. 25, 2021

The federal government should not have to release a report to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal detailing over two decades of sexual abuse committed by a former Indian Health Service pediatrician, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services argued Wednesday. In a Second Circuit brief, the agency sought to reverse a January order to release the report on Stanley Patrick Weber, arguing that an exception to the Freedom of Information Act blocks the release of certain "medical quality assurance" reports to encourage "candid reviews" of care provided by the Indian Health Service within HHS.

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