Federal Court Rejects FBI’s Attempt To Glomar Its Way Out Of A Trump-Related FOIA Lawsuit

By Tim Cushing, Techdirt, May 16, 2023

The Massachusetts branch of the ACLU decided to ask around to see if any of the many agencies generating classified documents had a copy of this supposed standing order from the President. It sent FOIA requests to the CIA, Defense Department, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), NSA, DHS, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). It also made the same request to the FBI, shortly after it performed its raid on Trump’s residence.

The DHS, NRO, and NGA told the ACLU they had no responsive documents. Other recipients apparently decided to let the FBI and its legal counseI answer for them. And that “answer” came in the form of a Glomar response: a refusal to confirm or deny the existence of this standing order. The ACLU sued.

And it has won, at least in terms of the FBI’s non-response response. The federal court handling the FOIA litigation says the FBI can’t play dumb here. Either the order exists (it doesn’t) or it doesn’t (it doesn’t), and the FBI — answering for other agencies — needs to tell the ACLUM whether or not the order exists. (It doesn’t.)

Read more here.

See also Court Opinions Issued May 11, 2023.