FOIA News: Biden loses bid to block release of memoir recordings

Judge allows release of Biden memoir audio to Heritage Foundation

By Anthony Thompson, USA TODAY, June 20, 2026

A federal judge ordered the Department of Justice to provide hours of audio recordings from former President Joe Biden’s 2017 memoir interviews to the Heritage Foundation, ruling that the public interest outweighs Biden’s privacy concerns despite his lawsuit to block the disclosure.

A federal judge ruled that hours of audio recordings tied to former President Joe Biden’s 2017 memoir can be turned over to the Heritage Foundation, rejecting his bid to block the disclosure.

In a ruling June 20, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said Biden’s privacy interests, while real, are outweighed by the public’s interest in the materials and the government’s obligation under the Freedom of Information Act to promote transparency.

The decision marks a setback for Biden, who in May sued the Department of Justice in an effort to stop the release of the recordings. The Heritage Foundation has argued the files could show evidence that Biden mishandled classified information, a claim he has denied.

Biden’s legal team immediately moved to seek an injunction pending appeal, signaling an ongoing fight over whether the audio can be released.

Read more here.

Jobs: jobs, jobs: Seven Up

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./CBP, GS 7-9, Wash., DC, closes 6/24/26 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Commerce/HQ, ZA 4, Wash., DC, closes 6/25/26 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Commerce/HQ, ZA 4, Wash., DC, closes 6/25/26 (public).

Sup, Att’y-Adviser, Nat’l Labor Rel. Bd., GS 15, Wash, DC, closes 6/26/26 or first 50 applications (public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Veterans Affairs/VHA, GS 12, Wash., DC, closes 6/26/26 (non-public).

Gen. Att’y, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./ICE, GS 11-15, Wash., DC, closes 7/7/26 (public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Transp./FAA, FV J, Wash., DC, closes 7/7/26 (internal only).

Court opinion issued June 19, 2026

Heritage Found. v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- in a reverse-FOIA challenge to DOJ's planned release of transcripts and audio recordings from Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation of former President Biden, holding that: (1) the Privacy Act permitted APA review of the disclosure decision; (2) DOJ reasonably reversed its prior Exemptions 6 and 7(C) withholdings after further redactions; and (3) preliminary injunction was unwarranted because the public interest in understanding the basis for Hur's prosecutorial decision outweighed the remaining privacy interests in the records.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.

Court opinion issued June 17, 2026

Wild Horse Education v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior (D. Nev.) -- dismissing claim as moot where BLM produced all responsive, non-exempt records after suit was filed; rejecting plaintiff’s argument that alleged delays and untimely final determination preserved a live controversy.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.

Court opinion issued June 15, 2026

Am. First Legal Found. v. CDC (D.D.C.) -- in case concerning agency’s efforts to flag COVID-19 misinformation on social media platforms, granting summary judgment to government on its withholdings of meeting agendas and summaries under Exemption 5 and rejecting plaintiff's argument that a government-misconduct exception applied; further, granting summary judgment to agency on Exemption 4 withholding of Meta’s BrandLift ad-measurement records, including estimated pricing, test budget terms, and account numbers; and ordering disclosure of records from CrowdTangle, Meta's tool for tracking how content spreads across Facebook and Instagram, on highly questionable conclusion that Meta's proprietary sorting criteria and keyword taxonomies were not "commercial in and of itself,” but in any event finding that Meta failed to sufficiently restrict third-party access to establish confidentiality.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: Money, money, money

The Fund for Investigative Journalism will host a webinar on June 24th on how to negotiate FOIA fees. See details here.

Jobs, jobs, jobs: A powerhouse pair

Att’y-Advisor, Office of Mgmt. & Budget, GS 13-15, Wash., DC, closes 6/29/26 (public).

Att’y Advisor, U.S. Int’l Trade, GS 15, Wash., D.C., closes 6/28/26 (public).

FOIA News: Commentary Explores Costs and Benefits of FOIA "Net Metering"

FOIA and Data-Driven Journalism

By Bernard Bell, Yale J. on Regs., June 14, 2026

Data-driven journalism uses or creates databases from culling and cleaning up government records and databases to tell important news stories, often ones serving to hold federal, state, or local governments accountable.[1]  But such journalism is costly.  Part of that expense is the cost of obtaining government records, and part is the expense entailed in making the records obtained more useful and accurate.[2]  Meanwhile, journalism is facing a financial crisis, with many news organizations disappearing and the survivors facing financial difficulties.[3] 

Into this conundrum steps Frank D. LaMonte.  LaMonte is legal counsel for CNN and previously headed the University of Florida’s Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information.  In his recent law journal article, A “Net Metering” Approach to Energize Journalism Powered by Accessible Government Records, 60 U. RICHMOND L. REV. 639 (2026), he proposes a “net metering” approach to FOIA. Under it, news organizations could receive reimbursement for costs they incur in cleaning up records received under FOIA and putting them into usable form.[4] 

LaMonte’s proposal is inspired by the “net metering” approach for the electricity sector ushered in by the Public Utility Regulatory Powers Act of 1978 (“PURPA”), Pub. L. 95–617, 92 Stat. 3117 (codified at scattered section of 16 U.S.C.).  Under that approach, public utilities compensate operators of “distributed generation,” i.e., small power generators.  Such small power generators can include residential customers who generate power from rooftop solar arrays.  In effect, public utilities must compensate such homeowners and other customers who generate power, at a price at least equal to the utility’s “avoided cost” of obtaining power elsewhere.  For such utility customers, the electric meter could, in effect, “run backwards” – if they provide more power to the utility than they take, they receive a net payout from the utility company.

This post briefly summarizes LaMonte’s article and provides a few observations. The observation largely focus on transparency issues at federal level, namely implementation of the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Read more here.

Court opinions issued June 12, 2026

Stevens v. DOJ (7th Cir.) (nonprecedential) -- affirming summary judgment for ICE and holding that challenges to the agency's search terms and the presumption of good faith were forfeited because they were raised for the first time on appeal; further, rejecting appellant’s argument that FOIA requires agencies to search the same locations in response to similar requests; and concluding that the requester failed to rebut the presumption that the agency's search declarations were submitted in good faith.

Schiff v. IRS (D.D.C.) -- granting in part and denying in part IRS's motion for reconsideration; reaffirming that the agency forfeited its argument that the request was unreasonably burdensome and that the request reasonably described the records sought; further, rejecting the IRS's attempt to supplement the record with additional declarations, concluding that the agency was not entitled to a "second bite at the apple" after failing to carry its burden at summary judgment; and modifying the remedy only to clarify that the IRS need produce only non-exempt records responsive to the request, leaving the case open for further proceedings.

Summaries of published opinions issued in 2026 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2025, 2024, and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: Op-ed spotlights FOIA's honor system

FOIA’s honor system is failing congressional oversight

By Dennis Buckovetz, Wash. Exam’r, June 12, 2026

n April, David Morens, a senior adviser to Anthony Fauci, was indicted on charges of allegedly destroying government records tied to COVID-19 origins research. According to the indictment, he deleted official communications and used personal email to evade Freedom of Information Act requests — even describing how to make emails “disappear” before searches began.

It is an extreme case. But it exposes a problem that should concern every member of Congress: FOIA operates, in practice, as an honor system.

Read more here.