FOIA News: SCOTUS declines to hear Clinton email case

Supreme Court Rejects Judicial Watch’s Final Attempt to Depose Hillary Clinton About Her Emails

By Jerry Lambe, Law & Crime, Mar. 29th, 2021

The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday declined a conservative legal group’s request to revisit whether Hillary Clinton should be required to answer questions about her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.

In an unsigned order issued without comment, the justices declined to take up Judicial Watch’s petition stemming from the organization’s lawsuit over the government’s response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The group had sought to depose Clinton and one of her top aides, Cheryl Mills, over electronic communications in connection with the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Discussion on establishing independent administrative FOIA oversight body

On April 14, 2021, Yale Law School will broadcast a pre-recorded discussion entitled “Fixing FOIA: Comparative Solutions to America's Transparency Deficit.” Details and registration information available here.

FOIA News: A FOIA pitch to the Attorney General

How Attorney General Garland Can Strengthen FOIA Implementation

By Daniel McGrath, Just Security, Mar. 25, 2021

In his confirmation hearing testimony, Attorney General Merrick Garland drew clear parallels between his task of restoring the integrity of the Justice Department today, in the wake of the Trump administration’s rampant politicization, and his early service when the department implemented policies to reaffirm its post-Watergate commitment to the rule of law. Garland noted that reading the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) “generously” was one of those vital policies.

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FOIA News: Update on Paycheck Protection Program case

NFIB files brief regarding Paycheck Protection Program borrower information

By Douglas Clark, Fin. Reg. News, Mar. 24, 2021

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has filed an amicus brief supporting the Small Business Administration (SBA) withholding records regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Officials said the action stems from the case Washington Post v. U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., concerning records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) about loan status and personal information of borrowers.

Read more here.

Copy of amicus brief here.

FOIA News: Yale University to host FOIA boot camp

MFIA Clinic to Host its Annual FOIA Bootcamp April 7, 2021

As government becomes more opaque, and the state of our nation evolves through the pandemic, it is ever more important to know how to use effectively the legal tools that exist to make federal, state, and local governments more open and accountable. To that end, the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) and the Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression at Yale Law School are hosting their annual “FOIA Bootcamp” on April 7, 2021.  Attendees at this special event can learn how to make the most out of government transparency laws from experts in the field.

Read more here.

FOIA News: D.C. Circuit hears argument about withheld NSA memo

On March 18, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral argument in The Protect Democracy Project v. U.S. National Security Agency, a case in which appellant seeks access to communications between NSA and the Executive Office of the President regarding Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. The lower court held that NSA properly withheld a disputed memorandum pursuant to Exemption 5’s presidential communications privilege.

FOIA News: ICYMI, OIP updates Ex. 1 of FOIA Guide

On March 4, 2021, the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy posted an updated version of section Exemption 1 of the Guide to the Freedom of Information Act. All of the remaining Guide sections have been updated as of 2019 or 2020.

FOIA News: Two Exemption 5 decisions analyzed

Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Limit Reach of Freedom of Information Act

By Marc Bruner, Perkins Coie, JD Supra, Mar. 19, 2021

The Freedom of Information Act requires that federal agencies make records available to the public upon request, unless the records fall within one of nine exemptions. “Exemption 5” covers inter-agency or intra-agency communications that would be privileged in civil litigation, including under the attorney-client, work product or deliberative process privilege. 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). In two recent rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit shored up the grounds for invoking Exemption 5 and for withholding documents from public disclosure under the FOIA statute.

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FOIA News: Senators seek to protect federal FOIA requesters from retaliation

Leahy Introduces Federal Employee Access To Information Act To Protect Federal Employees From Retaliation For Filing FOIA Requests

Press Release, Office of Sen. Patrick Leahy, Mar. 18, 2021

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), along with Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), Thursday introduced the Federal Employee Access to Information Act to ensure that federal employees are able to use the nation’s premier transparency law, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), without reprisal.  

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FOIA News: GAO blogs about FOIA

Freedom of Information Act—How Open is Public Access to Government Data?

By Michelle Sager, GAO, Mar. 18, 2021

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes a legal right for individuals and organizations to request access to government information. In FY 2019, federal agencies reported that they processed nearly 878,000 FOIA requests for government information, an increase of 32% since FY 2012.  

In honor of Sunshine Week—an annual observation that promotes open government—today’s WatchBlog post looks at our recent reports on agencies’ implementation of laws that seek to improve the public’s access to government information.

Read more here.