1/ The Trump administration has opened a new front in its ongoing war on public transparency, and this time they’re trying to undermine the Freedom of Information Act. Yes it’s a busy Friday (Cohen tapes, Helsinki fallout) but this is important, so stay with us.
2/ In response to a FOIA lawsuit brought by @DemocracyFwd, DOJ argues it does not have the resources to process its backlog of outstanding FOIA requests and should be given an “Open America” stay to delay responding for 9 months. americanoversight.org/amicus-brief-o…
@DemocracyFwd 3/ As @JasonLeopold flagged, there are signs the Trump admin plans to seek “Open America” stays in other FOIA litigation, for months or even years. In another case, FBI says it won’t get to new FOIA requests until 2021.
@DemocracyFwd @JasonLeopold 4/ Essentially, the Trump admin is arguing that it can’t respond to new FOIA requests because its backlog of outstanding requests (which the gov’t itself created by failing to dedicate enough resources to FOIA) is too big.
@DemocracyFwd @JasonLeopold 5/ That argument is absurd, and it would have the effect of rewarding the government for failing to comply with FOIA. We and others filed an amicus brief in @DemocracyFwd’s lawsuit today, opposing the Trump administration’s new attack on transparency.
@DemocracyFwd @JasonLeopold 6/ As @EricLiptonNYT noted last year, litigation is often the reason key information gets released. When we sued for Pruitt’s calendars we got them, while others were still being stonewalled. nytimes.com/2017/10/05/ins… 
@DemocracyFwd @JasonLeopold @EricLiptonNYT 7/ Freezing FOIA litigation is fundamentally at odds with FOIA’s purpose. Agencies could allocate more resources if they wanted to (DOJ just tasked every US Attorney’s Office to review Kavanaugh docs). The public shouldn’t suffer for agencies’ failures. americanoversight.org/amicus-brief-o…
@DemocracyFwd @JasonLeopold @EricLiptonNYT 8/ Despite this new attack on FOIA by the Trump administration, transparency is nonpartisan. Indeed, @JudicialWatch just won a sweeping and powerful decision at the DC Circuit reaffirming FOIA’s importance. thefoiablog.typepad.com/the_foia_blog/…
@DemocracyFwd @JasonLeopold @EricLiptonNYT @JudicialWatch 9/ FOIA also has supporters on both sides of the aisle in Congress. @jasoninthehouse was a major advocate for reform. We cite his “FOIA Is Broken” report multiple times in our brief. @RepCummings and @ChuckGrassley are also major allies.
@DemocracyFwd @jasoninthehouse @RepCummings @ChuckGrassley 10/10 We think Congress should take note - and leaders like @RepCummings, @TreyGowdy, @ChuckGrassley, @DianneFeinstein can start asking federal agencies why they think now is the time for less transparency. americanoversight.org/amicus-brief-o…
