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.

Court opinion issued July 16, 2024

Kowal v. DOJ (D.C. Cir) -- affirming district court’s 2022 decisions—following multiple rounds of summary judgment—that: (1) the FBI, DEA, and ATF justified the adequacy of their searches for records concerning plaintiff’s client, Daniel Troya, who was sentenced to death for murder in 2009; and (2)(a) defendant agencies properly withheld third-party information pursuant to Exemption 7(C); (b) FBI properly relied on Exemption 3 in conjunction with 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510–12, to withhold a narrative summary of a wiretap conversation; (c) FBI and DEA properly withheld source information pursuant to Exemption 7(D), noting that “grisly nature” of the crime “easily” supported inference of confidentiality for each source.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available 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.

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Weekly report July 15, 2024

Federal positions closing in the next 10 days

FOIA Assistant, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./CBP, GS 5-6, Wash., DC., closes 7/17/24.

Sup. Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of State, GS 14, Wash., D.C., closes 7/18/24 (non-public).

Att’y Advisor, Dep’t of Justice/OIP, GS 12-15, Wash., D.C., closes 7/21/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Army, Nat’l Guard, GS 9, Frankfort, KY, closes 7/22/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Def./DCSA, GG 9, Boyers, PA, closes 7/22/24.

Att’y Advisor, Dep’t of Justice/EOIR, GS 13-14, Falls Church, VA, closes 7/24/24 (non-public).

Court opinion issued July 11, 2024

Franklin v. Wormuth (D. Md.) -- determining that: (1) Department of the Army established that it performed adequate search for three of four categories of records pertaining to agency’s response to plaintiff’s EEO complaint, but denying summary judgment for one category because agency’s search description was “remarkably thin”; and (2) Army properly relied on Exemptions 6 and 7(C) to redact identifying information about third parties from Army police report.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available here.

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.

Court opinion issued July 9, 2024

Lovelace v. DOJ (D. Utah) -- recommending that court dismiss pro se plaintiff’s claim concerning FBI’s 2016 FOIA response, because plaintiff failed to file an administrative appeal with DOJ’s Office of Information Policy.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available here.