The FOIA blog

Detainee Photo Issue Still Alive at Supreme Court

According to the Reporter's Committee for the Freedom of the Press, the ACLU has asked the Supreme Court to refuse the government's request that the lower court ruling ordering the photos be released be vacated.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that FOIA exemption 7(F) did not protect the photos and the government appealed to the Supreme Court.  While the case was pending at the Supreme Court, Congress passed the photo's exempt pursuant to FOIA exemption 3.  The ACLU is now arguing that the 7(F) decision is still good law and is urging the Supreme Court to not vacate it, even if the photos are exempt under a different exemption.  The government had asked that the ruling be vacated and remanded to the lower court for further proceedings.

Friday FOIA Roundup

Here's a couple of interesting FOIA items that have come into The FOIA blog's world headquarters this week.

Law student Alexander Sellinger has an article which is appearing in the Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law.  It's entitled Backdoor Bailout Disclosure: Must the Federal Reserve Disclose the Identities of its Borrowers Under The Freedom of Information Act?  It can be found here: Download Fed_Lending_Disclosure_Article[1]

Bruce Schundler thought there was some financial irregularities at the Mesa Verde National Park, so he made a series of FOIA requests.  His website details what he found and what happened at the park.

Two in GOP Seek Further Fed Transparency

Two Republican Congressman have written an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal calling on further transparency at the Federal Reserve.  Representative Ron Paul (R-Tx) and Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) write that increased transparency would, among other things, make it so that news organizations (like Fox News and Bloomberg) wouldn't have to file FOIA requests and then sue for information.

I actually think the increased transparency at the Federal Reserve is an area where Congressional Demorcrats and Republicans can agree on; hopefully these Congressman will keep their focus on this important issue.

Fed, Treasury Sued For Bush-Era Documents

Judicial Watch has sued the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department for documents pertaining to actions and meetings that occured in 2008, when the economy was in an apparent free-fall.  Both agencies have failed to act on the requests. 

Arguments Heard in Reverse-FOIA Action

The U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments in a reverse-FOIA case on Monday that involved documents submitted to the government by United Technologies.  The blog of the Legal Times has this on the case.

For those of you who don't know what a reverse-FOIA is, it is when a submitter of records who has asked the government to withhold the records pursuant to exemption 4, loses at the administrative level and brings a lawsuit to enjoin the release of the documents.  It is called "reverse-FOIA" because it is a submitter that seeks protection under an exemption and the government wants to release information.

Alaska Still Blocking Palin E-mails

The state of Alaska is still blocking access to it's former Governer, Sarah Palin's official emails.  The Anchorage Daily News has more.

Gates Uses New Law to Block Detainee Photos

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has used a new law to block the release of detainee photographs in a brief recently filed at the Supreme Court according to Truthout.  If the Supreme Court signs off on the government's position, any release of detainee torture photos will be blocked from public scrutiny for the foreseaable future. 

Large Charge Brings FOIA Lawsuit

The Treasury Department's bill of over $500,000 to respond to a FOIA request concerning the once-frozen assets of a Libyan company has brough unforeseen consequences to the Department of Treasury, a lawsuit.  The Treasury Department will now have to defend its excessive FOIA fee in Court.  A similar request to the FBI only resulted in fees of $242, but of course, the FBI has yet to process and release the responsive records. 

It could get worse, the Michigan State Police have told a requester that fees on her request for records pertaining to Homeland Security Grants are estimated to be almost $6.8 million dollars.  Yes, I said million.

Government Drops Appeal on Some Documents in Telecom Immunity Case

In October, the government sought a stay to decide if it would appeal a court order that it should release documents about the Telecom industry's lobbying effort to get retroactive immunity on warrantless surveillance.  Now the Electronic Frontier Foundation has word that the government won't appeal the entire case and a release of documents--including communications between agencies and Congress about amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will be made shortly.

The government continues to fight on some of the responsive documents; namely the identity of the lobbying telecoms and internal executive branch discussions, so an appeal will be filed as well on the case.

20 Years Later, CIA Answers FOIA Request

"It was 20 years ago today, that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play." "The Beatles"

And now the FOIA version -- The CIA has released documents in a FOIA request 20 years after the request was made.  I don't really know what to say about it, 20 years is much too long for a FOIA request to sit around.  More can be found here on this no so fast moving story.