By Matt Reynolds, Courthouse News Service, April 21, 2015

LOS ANGELES (CN) - The Department of Defense asked a federal judge to dismiss an L.A. Times request for information on a $40 billion counter-ballistic missile system, claiming the information is exempt from disclosure.

The Times in January asked the court to order the Pentagon to release records of bonuses and incentives it paid contractors for delivering the missile system - the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System , or GMD.

In an answer filed Friday, the Pentagon asked the court to throw out the case.

The Department of Defense claims that the records are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, called the request "defective," and said that the Times had not "exhausted their administrative remedies."

"Defendant denies that plaintiff has withheld any 'records' sought by the FOIA request," the April 17 response states. "Further, defendant avers that by letter of March 31, 2015, defendants provided a response, which more than fully satisfied defendant's obligations to respond to the defective FOIA request at issue."

Remainder of story here.