Office of Legal Counsel Is Illegally Withholding Opinions from Public Scrutiny, Suit Alleges

Plaintiffs argue that 25-year-old documents are vital to understanding the Trump administration's decisions and should be made public under the 2016 FOIA reform.

By Courtney Buble, Gov. Exec., Aug. 23, 2019

A free speech institution, a nonprofit watchdog and several scholars filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Office of Legal Counsel for failing to fulfill Freedom of Information Act requests for decades-old documents they believe will shed light on current government surveillance activities, immigration policy and other significant issues. They argue the information should be released under a 2016 amendment to the law. 

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The suit, brought by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Campaign for Accountability and a group of scholars,  is seeking documents related to FOIA requests for formal OLC opinions prior to Feb. 15, 1994. 

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