Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
53 Articles
Recently Released OLC Opinions From 1974 Shed Light on Current Legal Debates
Earlier this month, my colleagues and I at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University secured the release of 96 previously withheld opinions authored by the Justice…
Why We Filed a FOIA Request on How Many US Troops Are in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria
Last night, Just Security filed FOIA requests with the Defense Department seeking U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
How Should FOIA Be Reformed to Prevent Further Abuse of Redactions?
To ensure the FOIA is not weaponized and used as an instrument of secrecy, Congress should reform the statute to mirror how the deliberative process privilege is treated in the…
![A redacted email from Elaine McCuster on August 27, 2019 at 12:02am to Eric Chewning and cc-ed David Norquist and John Rood with the subject line, “RE: [Non-DoD Source] Ukraine (USAI funding).” The text of the email is redacted but there is an attachment listed with the name, “smime.p7s”](https://i0.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-30-at-9.54.22-PM-e1578422584340.png?fit=1024%2C418&ssl=1)
Did the Trump Administration Abuse the Redactions Process?
The so-called deliberative process privilege allows federal agencies to redact internal policy debates, but it is often abused.
Constitution Day 2019: The Hidden Domestic Surveillance Crisis
As we mark the 232nd anniversary of the signing of America’s governing charter, we have ample evidence that it continues to be violated by the federal officials charged with…
The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier to Conceal Abuse of Migrant Detainees
The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed a half-century of precedent on citizens’ rights to know what their government is doing, by making it more difficult for the public to probe…
JFK Records Suit Tests CIA Secrecy on Assassination
Morley v. CIA has wound its way through the courts for 16 years, and revealed some juicy nuggets along the way. The plaintiff, who is the biographer of two top CIA operations officers,…
New DoD Policy on Amends Needs to Address Transparency Gap
New information from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) reveals a previously unrecognized transparency gap in the U.S. military’s efforts to acknowledge and address civilian…
Trump Administration Must Publicly Disclose the Truth About Khashoggi Murder
The Open Society Justice Initiative has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the CIA and other federal agencies seeking the disclosure of all records relating to the…
Americans Have Right to Know if US Failed to Warn Khashoggi—A New Lawsuit May Get Answers
Now is a good time to return to the question what the US government knew about Saudi plot beforehand. A lawsuit may answer that question.
Trump’s Ability to Classify Mueller Report Is Greater Threat Than Executive Privilege
The prospect of the President invoking Executive Privilege to keep the Special Counsel's report secret has received plenty of attention. Less well-known is this: there are no restrictions…
A Call to Former Intelligence Community Employees Who Are Subject to a Prepublication Review Requirement
Millions of former public servants who once had access to classified information—and many who didn’t—are subject to a requirement of prepublication review. They are generally…