The FOIA blog

Bloomberg Uses FOIA Data to Show How Fed Helped Banks

Bloomberg has used the data it received from the Federal Reserve -- after sucessfully suing the Federal Reserve -- to show how the government bailed out the banks (with our money) and the banks managed to reap $13 billion in profits. 

This may be the best example of why the FOIA is important -- the government doesn't make this information public on its own and the big banks fought the disclosure tooth and nail.   

FOIA Attorney Position

DMI is currently seeking to hire a FOIA Attorney to support a Cyber Security and Information Assurance program for a Federal Government customer on a long-term contract in the DC metro area.  You can find out more on the DMI website.

If you end up getting the job, feel free to let them know that you heard about it on the FOIA blog! 

FOIA Monday

The FOIA blog hopes everyone had a great Thanksgiving.   Here are a couple of FOIA items to start the week:

The "Friday FOIA Roundup" on Friday, November 20, 2009, included a brief reference to Bruce Shundler's FOIA requests to Mesa Verde NP.  Mr. Shundler's website has the updated story, which he calls "The Dark Side of the NPS."

If you recall, during the last days of the Bush Administration in late 2008 the Federal Reserve bailed out a number of large banks.  Bloomberg's Mark Pittman tried to get the information on this through the FOIA -- he had to sue and ultimately the material was made public -- unfortunately, Mr. Pittman passed away in 2009 before the material was released.  Here's a tribute to him from Bloomberg.

Sen. Mark Udall and FOIA Exclusions

Politico has this article from Sen. Mark Udall (D-Co) in which he lays out his position on the Department of Justice's use of FOIA Exclusions.  The Senator shows a grasp of the actual issues and the reasons why exclusions are needed as well as his position on what the government should do when they are invoked.

OGIS Recommendations Stalled at OMB

According to this from Nextgov.com, recommendations about the FOIA made by the Office of Government Information Services are stalled at the Office of Management and Budget.

As I have said over and over again, the basic problem is that there is no one either in the White House or the Department of Justice advocating for FOIA programs and making the major decisions on the direction of FOIA.

FBI Sanctioned

The FBI has been sanctioned pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for misleading Judge Cormac Carney of the Central District of California -- the FBI did not disclose to the court all the responsive records it had; from the orders in the case it looks like the FBI was invoking its exclusion but somehow decided that it could also not tell the court that it was using the exclusion (which of course is not permitted by any law or regulation).

The opinion granting sanctions can be found here: Download Rule 11 sanctions

Mug Shot Issue Before Supreme Court

The Eleventh Circuit decison allowing the government to withhold mug shots is now before the Supreme Court -- a cert petition was filed by Theodore Karantsalis, the plaintiff/requester seeking the mug shot on September 19th.  The Government has twice had its response extended -- it is now due on December 19th.

Those following the issue will recall that the Sixth Circuit has previously ruled that mug shots must be released -- the Eleventh Circuit decision created a split in the Circuits making the issue ripe for the Supreme Courts to act.

No Waiver on FBI Main Investigate Manual

Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that the FBI did not waive its rights to withhold its investigative manual when it shared portions of it under controlled conditions with outside groups according to Judge Emmit Sullivan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  However, the FBI must better justify its withholdings for certain portions of the manual.  Once the FBI submits its updated declarations, the court can then make a final ruling on the case and the plaintiffs', the Muslim Advocates can then appeal the waiver decision.

IRS Wins on Request for Pension Plan Data

According to CCH, the IRS has won a court case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit where the requesters were seeking information on an employer's participation in a pension plan.  The basic reason for the victory is that he information sought was tax return information, and the IRS Exemption under the IRS Tax Code Section 6103 is very broad; enabling this type of information to be withheld as long as it is "tax return information."

As the debate about overhauling the tax code sharpens, open record advocates should take the opportunity to have Congress discuss narrowing the broad exemption that the IRS presently has for anything considered "tax return information."

Nixon Grand Jury Testimony Unsealed

Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony was unsealed today and Talkingpointsmemo has this report on the details.  As a result of the case brought to unseal this testimony, Attorney General Holder has recommended changes to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to set guidelines for when grand jury testimony can be released.