According to the law firm, King & Spalding, the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") is setting up a Transparency Task Force and seeks public comment on transparency issues including the FOIA. One public meeting has already been held, another one is slated for the Fall of 2009.
The Government has been scolded by United States District Judge Paul L. Friedman of the District of Columbia for attempting to shift the burden on withheld documents to the requester and proposing an unduly long briefing schedule.
While many FOIA requesters will work with agencies to lessen their burden on justifying withheld information, it is always important to remember that it is the agencies burden and if they aren't going to release the information they must fully explain why it being withheld. This opinion is a clear example of that.
The Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled against the awarding of attorney fees under the standards enunciated in the FOIA Amendments of 2007 for cases brought prior to that act coming into law. [Ed. note--when this case was first brought against the FBI, it was assigned to me and I believe I submitted a declaration in the case, however, I was not involved in its settlement nor the issues involved with the attorney fees as I had already left the FBI by that time.]
Prior to the 2007 FOIA Amendments, attorney fees in FOIA cases were only awarded when a requester actually received a court order siding with the requester on an issue in the case. The new law which became effective in 2008 allows for the awarding of attorney fees as long as the bringing of the law suit is the catalyst for something in the FOIA request that the agency had not previously done (i.e. release of records). The Federal District Court for the District of Columbia had been split on whether the new law was retroactive; this decision ends the division in the circuit.
The D.C. Open Government Coalition has been created to deal with issues under the District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act. It is up and running and has a new website with information about the the DC FOIA.
NPR's On the Media recently ran two FOIA related interviews. Incoming FOIA Ombudsman (Ombudswoman?) Miriam Nisbet spoke about her new position and Anne Weismann, General Counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington about the newest White House visitor log lawsuit against the Obama Administration [Ed. note--I do legal work for CREW but am not involved in this litigation at this time.]
The Public Interest Declassification Board is holding a meeting at the National Archives and Records Administration on July 8, 2009 to discuss revisions of Executive Order 12958 which controls agency classification standards. The Federal Register Notice can be found here. If the link doesn't work, the entire notice is reprinted below:
[Federal Register: June 23, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 119)]
[Notices]
[Page 29729-29730]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23jn09-93]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
Information Security Oversight Office
Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB); Meeting
AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 1102 of the Intelligence Reform and
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which extended and modified the
Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) as established by the
Public Interest
[[Page 29730]]
Declassification Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-567, title VII, December 27,
2000, 114 Stat. 2856), announcement is made for the following committee
meeting:
DATES: July 8, 2009.
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
ADDRESSES: National Archives and Records Administration, 700
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Room 105, Washington, DC 20408.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie A. Agurkis, PIDB Staff,
Information Security Oversight Office, National Archives Building, 700
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20408, telephone number (202)
357-5308.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To solicit public input concerning
recommendations and proposed revisions to the classification and
declassification policies found in Executive Order 12958, as amended,
``Classified National Security Information'' (the Order). This action
is being taken at the request of the National Security Advisor and in
support of the ongoing review of the Order directed by the President on
May 27, 2009.
This meeting will be open to the public. To ensure that the Board
may hear from all interested parties, individuals interested in
addressing the Board may be limited to 10 minutes. Due to space
limitations and access procedures, the name and telephone number of
individuals planning to attend must be submitted to the Information
Security Oversight Office (ISOO) via e-mail, PIDB@nara.gov, no later
than July 2, 2009. ISOO will provide additional instructions for
gaining access to the location of the meeting.
Dated: June 11, 2009.
Mary Ann Hadyka,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-14691 Filed 6-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P
Here's Newsweek's take on the FOIA, Obama's openness standards and whether the new administration has lived up to its promises of January 21.
While I have been disappointed so far by Bureaucrats blocking the President's will, I also realize that history is judged over the long term not just a snapshot.
is up and it concerns the detainee issue. (FYI--I wrote it before the Senate's legislation banning the release of the photos).
Secrecy News is reporting that Energy Secretary Chu has issued a FOIA Memo that reinforces the President and Attorney General in their recent FOIA directives.
As we all know, writing a memo saying how transparency is good and the government is going to be transparent is one thing, actually implementing it is another. Time will tell if the Energy Department lives up to Secretary Chu's high ideals.
According to the Washington Post, the CIA believes that most of the internal account of its interrogation program should not be publicly released. When was the last time the CIA didn't object to the release of anything about it?
