FOIA News: DOJ defends withholding of Biden audio

DOJ rejects outside groups’ efforts to FOIA Hur tapes

By Ashley Oliver, Wash. Exam’r, July 19, 2024

The Department of Justice is fighting efforts from several groups to obtain audio recordings of the interview former special counsel Robert Hur conducted with President Joe Biden last year, according to court documents filed Thursday evening.

DOJ attorneys wrote that there is “no basis” under the Freedom of Information Act for the department to provide the recordings of Biden’s interview, an argument that comes after the department released the transcript of it in March.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Changes upcoming at FOIA Advisor

Dear Valued Readers:

FOIA Advisor was launched in 2015 as a non-commercial forum designed to help the public learn more about the law and to aid FOIA practitioners. We’re excited to announce that we’ll be transitioning to a subscription site by September 30, 2024, a move aimed at enhancing your experience and the quality of content we deliver. Stay tuned for further details.

Thank you for your continued support.

FOIA News: OIP updates FOIA.gov search tool

FOIA.gov Search Tool Adds Law Enforcement User Journey

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, July 18, 2024

FOIA.gov, the government’s central resource for information about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) now includes additional functionality to help users locate commonly requested law enforcement and related records.  The FOIA.gov Search Tool was updated to add a “Law Enforcement records” pre-defined user journey that helps the public more quickly locate commonly requested information.  This user journey supplements the existing journeys that help users identify agencies with some of the most common types of requested records, including Immigration/Travel records, Tax records, Social Security records, Medical records, Personnel records, and Military records. The new Law Enforcement records user journey not only helps requesters identify the multitude of federal law enforcement agencies subject to the FOIA, but also provides useful guidance for those seeking state and local records.

Read more here.

FOIA News: This and that

• The FBI’s latest updates to its document library (the “Vault”) include files on Henry Hill (from “Goodfellas” movie fame) and the Girl Scouts.

• Does Dr. Ruth, who died on July 12, 2024, have an FBI file? A curious requester wants to know.

• DOJ’s National Security Division announced a vacancy for an attorney to primarily handle FOIA matters.

• The U.S. Secret Service has posted information about 2024 candidate protection.

• The Michigan Law Review posted an essay about recent Exemption 4 case law.

• The U.S. Postal Service likens the FOIA to the tango in an agency news clip.

FOIA News: ICYMI, CRS issues updated FOIA overview

On June 27, 2024, the Congressional Research Service issued an updated version of The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A Legal Overview. The sixth version of CRS’s overview is 61 pages long with 513 footnotes.

FOIA News: FOIA Forum on July 31st

404 Media will be hosting its fourth FOIA Forum for paid subscribers on July 31, 2024, at 1pm EDT. The main guest speaker will be Seamus Hughes, who runs Court Watch. See more details here.

FOIA News: OIP hosting workshop 7/31/24

Register Now for an Upcoming FOIA Best Practices Workshop on Backlog Reduction Plans

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, July 9, 2024

Join the Office of Information Policy (OIP) at its next Best Practices Workshop on creating and implementing backlog reduction plans.  Developing effective backlog reduction plans is critical to managing ever-increasing volumes of requests.  The workshop will feature panelists from agencies with varied FOIA workloads discussing their own backlog reduction efforts.     

The workshop will take place virtually over WebEx on July 31, 2024 from 10 AM – 12 PM EDT.  A summary of the best practices discussed will be posted on OIP’s Best Practices page.

This event is open to all agency FOIA professionals.  Federal employees may register here.  

For questions or more information, please contact OIP at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov.

FOIA News: PTO defends Exemption 5 redactions

Patent Office Continues To Fight Smartflash's FOIA Suit

By Adam Lidgett, Law 360, July 8, 2024

The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office has again said it shouldn't have to turn over documents an inventor is seeking about Patent Trial and Appeal Board reviews of his patents, saying that doing so would harm its ability to respond to public information requests. . . .

The federal government on Monday filed a reply brief backing its bid for summary judgment in the case filed y Smartflash LLC, which is owned by inventor Patrick Racz.

Smartflash had said the PTAB panels in its cases were manipulated to benefit challenger Apple, and the the documents it got from the office in response to its Freedom of Information Act requests omitted too much information to provide clarity. The company had said that the emails were improperly redacted and that it was treated differently from other patent owners, according to court records.

Read more here (access with free 7-day trial).

The docket and complaint are available here.

FOIA News: Happy 58th Anniversary

July 4 — The 58th Anniversary of The Freedom of Information Act

By Floyd Nelson, Blue Ridge Leader & Loudoun Today, July 4, 2024

More than 50 years ago, Michael Ross Lemov was still a young, intrepid general counsel who had just finished working on the National Commission on Product Safety, the forerunner to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. That was the time he told me he started working for the late California Congressman John Moss, the primary author, the champion and the driving force behind the Freedom of Information Act.

Thus marked the beginning of a friendship, mentorship and joint commitment to American democracy and open government. Mind you, Moss had already single-handedly brought the Freedom of Information Act or FOIA into being in 1966.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Requests to FDA & SEC are more likely to be commercial, new analysis reveals

FOIAengine Reveals Trends Behind the Big Numbers at FDA, SEC  

By Randy Miller, Law St. Media, June 26, 2024

This week we analyze the sources of Freedom of Information Act requests made during May to the Food and Drug Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission. This analysis provides a macro view of who is submitting the 20,000 plus requests made each year to the two agencies.

FOIAengine, the competitive-intelligence database that tracks FOIA requests in as close to real-time as their availability allows, organizes the entities who submit FOIA requests into ten categories: Commercial, Educational, Federal Government, Financial Institution, Law Firm, News Media, Non-Profit, Organization Not Identified, Other, and Local and State Government. The following charts show the number of requests to the FDA and the SEC for each of these categories.

Read more here.