2007 saw the first major change in FOIA policy personnel in nearly a quarter of a century at the Department of Justice.
In the Fall of 2006, Dan Metcalfe, the Director of the Department of Justice's Office of Information and Policy ("OIP") announced that he would retire early in 2007. Metcalfe went to the law school at the American University to become a Faculty Fellow in Law and Government and the Executive Director, Collaboration on Government Secrecy. He also made a number of appearances in the media, speaking out on Attorney General Gonzales tenure at the Department of Justice, among other things.
Meanwhile, at the Department of Justice, Melanie Pustay, a career attorney with OIP was named to the position of Executive Director of OIP in April of 2007.
Why is this important? The Director of OIP is involved in many FOIA policy decisions, such as whether the government should appeal adverse FOIA Opinions made by the Judicial Branch, what DOJ FOIA publications should say, and generally what policies the government should make in disclosure overall. OIP has a large hand in the memorandums on FOIA issued by Attorney Generals and Executive Orders from the President on FOIA. Thus, the head of this office has a large say in how the government will view FOIA.
It's too early to say what impact the change has actually had on FOIA, however, over time, FOIA watchers will be able to see where DOJ is taking FOIA policy.
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