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Today, in a hearing dedicated to the Freedom of Information Act and transparency, Rep. Jim Jordan decided to use his time to attack American Oversight for our work investigating the Trump administration’s misconduct.
Jordan bizarrely quoted from our website, describing our Parallel Investigations Initiative — in which we file FOIAs to ensure that the Trump administration can’t obstruct oversight requests from Congress — as harassment. americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Demanding transparency from our government is not harassment — it’s accountability. And during the first two years of President Trump’s term, while Congress sat on the sidelines, FOIA was often the only way to hold our leaders accountable. americanoversight.org/two-years-of-a…
Rep. Jordan sat on the Oversight Committee for two years while it failed to investigate multiple ethics scandals — scandals that were exposed and investigated by the public through FOIA requests backed by litigation.
FOIA backlogs are a huge problem, but they’re a problem of the government’s own making. Federal agencies are required by law to comply with FOIA, but instead they consistently underfund and understaff FOIA offices.
It is disappointing but sadly not surprising that the ranking member of the Oversight Committee would use a #SunshineWeek hearing on #FOIA to criticize those who demand transparency instead of those who obstruct it.
