Justice Department didn't read letters they refused to release
By Adam Silverman , Burlington Free Press, May 31, 2017
The Justice Department decided to keep secret on privacy grounds the resignation letters from nearly 50 U.S. attorneys ousted by the Trump administration without first reading any of the letters, public records show.
Justice Department lawyers in March denied a Burlington Free Press request under the federal Freedom of Information Act for copies of the letters, on grounds that the information in the documents was so "inherently personal" that they should be exempt from release.
But notes that Justice Department staff created while processing the FOIA request show their conclusion was based only on an assumption.
"The records being sought seem to be inherently personal and would be withheld," reads a section of the processing notes, which the Burlington Free Press obtained through a separate FOIA request. The analyst who first reviewed the request consulted with a supervisor, who agreed, according to the notes, "and advised to respond with a blanket denial."
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