FOIA Advisor

FOIA News: NARA posts Merrick Garland's Department of Justice records

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Hundreds of files concerning former U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland are now available to the public on the website of the National Archives and Records Administration.  See Files of Associate Deputy Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, 4/1/1994 - 4/30/1997Enclosure Files of Assistant Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, 1/1/1995 - 12/31/1995; and Subject Files of Assistants to the Attorney General, 1974 - 1994.  The published files were first made available to America Rising in response to its FOIA requests following Garland's nomination in March 2016. 

In sum, NARA processed and released more than 38,000 pages of records to America Rising in less than eight months -- a laudable effort by NARA personnel.  Among the records that might be of particular interest to FOIA practitioners are DOJ memos from 1980 that discuss FOIA litigation involving Henry Kissinger's papers.  Records reflecting higher-profile matters in which Merrick Garland took part include the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics and the Oklahoma City bombing case.