FOIA Advisor

FOIA News: Gov't must process 5k pages monthly regarding Khashoggi

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

NY judge cites ‘urgency’ of FOIA case regarding Khashoggi

By Associated Press, Las Vegas Review Journal, Aug. 6, 2019

Federal agencies must produce thousands of pages monthly of records pertaining to the killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi because learning about his disappearance as quickly as possible is of “paramount importance,” a judge said Tuesday.

Representatives of the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense had told U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer that producing 5,000 pages monthly makes it impossible to respond in a timely fashion to other Freedom of Information Act requests.

Engelmayer ordered the agencies to get it done anyway, saying the disappearance of the Washington Post columnist and Saudi national was of “considerable public importance.”

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