FOIA News: Recap of Friday’s DC Circuit argument

DC Circ. Wary Of Ga. Voting Ruling's FOIA Impact

By Ali Sullivan, Law360, Oct. 4, 2024

A D. C. Circuit panel seemed concerned Friday with the practical implications of a trial court's holding that the Freedom of Information Act compels the disclosure of the U. S. Department of Justice's communications with private co-litigants in lawsuits challenging a controversial Georgia voting law.

At issue during the oral arguments was a February 23 ruling from U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who ordered the Justice Departmant to fork over records of its discussions with the nongovernmental groups in response to a FOIA request from Georgia officials. The judge held that a disclosure exemption for “intra-agency” memos wasn’t applicable—an interpretation the DOJ has cast as impractical and overly narrow.

Read more here (access with free trial subscription).

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Weekly report Oct. 7, 2024

Federal positions closing in the next 10 days

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Pentagon Protection Force, GS 12-13, multiple locations, closes 10/9/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Air Force, GS 9, Travis AFB, CA, closes 10/9/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Commerce/NOAA, ZA 2-3, Gloucester, MA, closes 10/9/24 (non-public)

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Commerce/NOAA, ZA 2-3, Gloucester, MA, closes 10/9/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Justice/BOP, GS 12, remote, closes 10/10/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Air Force, GS 9, Langley AFB, VA, closes 10/10/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Air Force, GS 9, Lackland AFB, TX, closes 10/10/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/BEP, GS 12-13, Wash., DC, closes 10/11/24 (non-public).

FOIA/PA Specialist, Dep’t of the Army, NF-4, Fort Sam Houston, TX, closes 10/11/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Air Force, GS 9, Hanscom AFB, MA, closes 10/14/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/OFAC, GS 9-13, Wash., DC, closes 10/15/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/OFAC, GS 9-13, Wash., DC, closes 10/15/24.

Federal positions closing on or after Oct. 18, 2024

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Veterans Affairs/VHA, GS 11-12, Martinsburg, WV, closes 10/25/24 (internal to agency).

FOIA News: Registration Opens for Symposium Marking 50th Anniversary of 1974 FOIA Amendments

The American Society of Access Professionals has announced the opening of registration for a special symposium to mark the 50th Anniversary of the 1974 FOIA Amendments. The event, which is co-sponsored by the George Washington University School of Law and the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, will be held on November 1, 2024 at the GW Law School. In addition to panels throughout the day, the event will feature a “mini” career fair that will allow students to explore careers in public access and FOI.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Alan Morrison

• David Cuillier

• Lauren Harper

• Nate Jones

• Katie Townsend

• Thomas Susman

• Miriam Nisbet

• Ryan Mulvey

• Jason R. Baron

• Anne Weismann

Registration information and further details are available here.

FOIA News: Comments sought for U.S. Open Gov't Nat'l Action Plan

GSA Seeks Ideas for the Sixth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Oct. 2, 2024

Representing the United States’ interests as a founding member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), the U.S. Open Government Secretariat within the Government Services Administration (GSA) seeks public comments as it kicks off the co-creation process for the Sixth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan (NAP).  GSA invites input from a wide and diverse array of stakeholders from the public, private, advocacy, not-for-profit, and philanthropic sectors, including state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.  Members of the public as well as agency personnel are encouraged to provide feedback.  Public and agency input is critical in shaping a NAP that reflects the needs and priorities of the American people.

Read more here.

FOIA News: DOJ announces agency reporting deadlines

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy has announced agency deadlines for the submission of Fiscal Year 2024 Annual FOIA Reports, Fiscal Year 2025 Quarterly FOIA Reports, and 2025 Chief FOIA Officer Reports. Read more here.

FOIA News: D.C. Circuit to hear FOIA argument on 10/4/24

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral argument in Georgia v. DOJ, No. 20-5083, on Friday, October 4, 2024. The issue on appeal is whether Exemption 5’s consultant corollary doctrine protects certain communications between DOJ and outside parties in lawsuits where plaintiffs entered into a common interest agreement with DOJ.

The district court ruled against the government.

Livestream audio is available here.

FOIA News: Heritage Foundation deluging agencies with requests on taxpayers' dime

Heritage Foundation Staffers Flood Federal Agencies With Thousands of Information Requests

The conservative think tank has filed thousands of public-information requests, clogging the pipeline at federal agencies in an apparent attempt to find employees a potential Trump administration would want to purge.

By Sharon Lerner and Andy Kroll, ProPublica, Oct. 1, 2024

Three investigators for the Heritage Foundation have deluged federal agencies with thousands of Freedom of Information Act requests over the past year, requesting a wide range of information on government employees, including communications that could be seen as a political liability by conservatives. Among the documents they’ve sought are lists of agency personnel and messages sent by individual government workers that mention, among other things, “climate equity,” “voting” or “SOGIE,” an acronym for sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

The Heritage team filed these requests even as the think tank’s Project 2025 was promoting a controversial plan to remove job protections for tens of thousands of career civil servants so they could be identified and fired if Donald Trump wins the presidential election.

See more here.

FOIA News: NIH's "FOIA Lady" subpoenaed by House Oversight’s pandemic subcommittee

BREAKING: “FOIA Lady” Plans to Plead the Fifth After Wenstrup Announces Subpoena for Her Testimony

Ms. Margaret Moore, a lead staffer in NIH’s FOIA office, allegedly taught NIAID officials how to “make emails disappear”

Press Release, U.S. House of Rep., Comm. on Oversight & Accountability, Sept. 30, 2024

WASHINGTON — Today, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) announced a subpoena to compel Ms. Margaret Moore — known infamously as the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) “FOIA Lady” — to appear for a deposition on October 4, 2024. Documents suggest that Ms. Moore was involved in a conspiracy to teach National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) officials how to evade the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and avoid public transparency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Moore’s counsel has informed the Select Subcommittee that his client plans to invoke her Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination during the deposition on Friday.

Read more here.

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Weekly report Sept. 30, 2024

Federal jobs closing in the next 10 days

Sup. Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./USCIS, GS 11, closes 9/30/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Army, GG 7-11, Fort Meade, MD, closes 10/1/24.

Sup. Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, GS 13, remote, closes 10/1/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Interior/BSES, GS 9-11, Jefferson. LA, closes 10/2/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Interior/BSES, GS 9-11, Jefferson. LA, closes 10/2/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/IRS,GS 14, nationwide, closes 10/4/24 (non-public).

Gen. Att’y, Consumer Product Safety Comm., GS 11, Bethesda, MD, closes 10/7/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Labor/OASAM, GS 13, location negotiable, closes 10/7/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/IRS. GS 13, nationwide, closes 10/7/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Veterans Affairs/VHA, GS 9, Orlando, FL, closes 10/7/24 (non-public)

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Interior/NPS, GS 12, Wash., DC, closes 10/8/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Commerce/NOAA, ZA 2-3, Gloucester, MA, closes 10/9/24 (non-public)

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Commerce/NOAA, ZA 2-3, Gloucester, MA, closes 10/9/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Justice/BOP, GS 12, remote, closes 10/10/24 (non-public).

Federal jobs closing on or after Oct. 11, 2024

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/BEP, GS 12-13, Wash., DC, closes 10/11/24 (non-public)

FOIA News: DOJ pays fees after wining Exemption 4 case

DOJ Will Pay Attorneys' Fees in Lethal Injection FOIA Dispute

By Daniel Seiden, Bloomberg Law, Sept. 26, 2024

The US Department of Justice will pay $65,266 in attorneys’ fees and expenses to settle a Freedom of Information Act dispute with a non-profit organization concerning the government’s supply of pentobarbital used in lethal injections, a federal district court filing said.

This settlement with Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington will release the government from any future expenses claimed in this case, filed by the organization at the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2019, the Wednesday notice of settlement said.

Read more here (subscription required).

See district court’s 2024 decision here.