"for piercing the self-serving veil of government secrecy, guiding journalists in search for the truth, and informing us all.”
28,000+ Freedom of Information Act Requests filed since 1985, liberating 6 million+ pages of former secrets.
Litigated 34 FOI cases as Plaintiff, Counsel, or Amicus Curiae (won White House e-mail, Oliver North notebooks, JFK-Khrushchev letters, Terry Anderson kidnapper files, etc.).
Comparative Study of Agency FOIA Processing and Impact of Policy Changes
Comparative Study of Agency FOIA Processing and Impact of Policy Changes
Identify Best Practices and Problems
Recommend Improvements
Identify Issues to Pursue
Describe Problems Encountered By FOIA Requester Community
Assemble Information To Aid Other FOIA Requesters
THE FOIA AUDIT
The Phases of the FOIA Audit:
Phase One -
The Ashcroft Memorandum
- Phase Two –The Ten Oldest FOIA Requests
Phase Three – Website Audit
Phase Four - The Card Memorandum
The FOIA Audit: The ASHCROFT MEMO
Was the San Francisco Chronicle right in asserting that the guidance effectively repealed the FOIA?
PHASE ONE: Ashcroft Memo
Eliminates AG Reno’s “Presumption of Disclosure” for Discretionary Releases.
Ashcroft Memo:
“Any discretionary decision by your agency to disclose information protected under the FOIA should be made only after full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests that could be implicated by disclosure of the information.”
PHASE ONE: Ashcroft Memo
Eliminates ‘Foreseeable Harm’ Standard – Replaces With ‘Sound Legal Basis.’
Ashcroft: “When you carefully consider FOIA requests and decide to withhold records, in whole or in part, you can be assured that the Department of Justice will defend your decisions unless they lack a sound legal basis…”
Ashcroft Memo FOIA Request
Ashcroft Memo: FOIA Requests
Ashcroft Memo: Findings
5 of 33 Federal departments or agencies surveyed (15 %) indicated significant changes in regulations, guidance, and training materials and that the Ashcroft Memorandum was widely disseminated.
Ashcroft Memo: Findings
Ashcroft Memo: Findings
8 of 33 Federal Departments or Agencies Surveyed (24 %) Indicated Implementation Activities Concerning the Ashcroft Memo, Including its Dissemination and Incorporation into FOIA Regulations and Procedures.
Ashcroft Memo: Findings
17 of 33 Federal departments or agencies surveyed (52 %) indicated awareness and dissemination of the Ashcroft Memo, but indicated little change in regulations, guidance or training materials reflecting the new policy.
Ashcroft Memo: Findings
3 of 33 Federal Departments or Agencies Surveyed (9 %) Indicated No Changes in Regulations, Guidance or Training Materials, And Little if No Dissemination of The Ashcroft Memorandum.
U.S. Central Command, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Science Foundation
Ashcroft Memo: Conclusion
RESULT: More Secrecy In Government
More Secrecy in Government?
Phase Two: The 10 Oldest FOIA Requests
Do agency annual FOIA reports accurately portray agency backlog?
What are the oldest pending FOIA requests in the federal government?
How extensive is each agency’s backlog?
How long are FOIA requesters waiting?
The 10 Oldest FOIA Requests
10 Oldest FOIA Requests: Findings
10 Oldest FOIA Requests: Findings
10 Oldest FOIA Requests: Findings
ARMY: Oldest FOIA pending - 3500 days
02’ annual report median - 25 days
CIA: Oldest FOIA pending - 4090 days
02’ annual report median – 601 days
FBI: Oldest FOIA pending - 3970 days
02’ annual report median – 90 days
10 Oldest FOIA Requests: Findings
10 Oldest FOIA Requests: Findings
10 Oldest FOIA Requests: Findings
10 Oldest FOIA Requests: Conclusion
FOIA Audit: Administrative Findings
Inaccurate or incomplete information about agency FOIA contacts.
Failure to acknowledge requests.
Lost requests.
Excessive Backlogs.
Complete Decentralization Leading to Delay and Lack of Oversight.
FOIA Audit: Administrative Findings
Complete Decentralization Leading to Delay and Lack of Oversight.
Inconsistent Practices Regarding the Acceptance of Administrative Appeals.
Appealing for Lack of Response May Delay Processing, But Also May Get The Agency’s Attention.
Conflation of Fee Categorization and Fee Waiver Standards.
FOIA Audit in the News
The FOIA Audit: Coming Soon
Phase 4 – Card Memo Requests
March 19, 2002 issued by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card
Advised government information, regardless of its age, when related to weapons of mass destruction should be more readily protected.
Credits PowerPoint Presentation Designed by Barbara Elias FOIA Audit Reports Written by Meredith Fuchs Additional Research by Barbara Elias, Will Ferroggiaro and Meredith Fuchs Edited by Thomas Blanton
