Thread by @JasonLeopold

This year, the US government continued to try and stonewall my attempts to pry loose documents via #FOIA. So @BuzzFeedNews & I filed dozens of public records lawsuits against recalcitrant agencies. We prevailed and we broke news.

Here's some of my greatest hits.

1/

January: These Emails Reveal The Drama Behind The GSA’s Decision Not To Certify Biden’s Win

2/

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

January: Another batch of documents from my long running quest to liberate all the documents from the Mueller investigation.

The FBI Just Released Its Secret Interviews With Michael Flynn

3/

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

January: (not via #FOIA lawsuit rather a standard request)

Yep, The Secret Service Really Did Take Notice Of John Mulaney's SNL Monologue

The agency said Mulaney made “inappropriate statements” about President Donald Trump during his SNL monologue

4/

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

February/shot: Docs Pried Loose By BuzzFeed News Have Prompted A Demand For The Investigation Of Former Trump Health Officials

Health officials sought to control the message and limit interactions with the media as the pandemic raged through America

5/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

Fast forward to chaser and impact/December

The Department of Health and Human Services broke the law last year when it told staff members not to speak with the media during the coronavirus pandemic, a federal watchdog found

6/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

March: Documents Show How Federal Law Enforcement Was Tracking Extremists Ahead Of The Capitol Riot

Documents obtained by BuzzFeed News show authorities particularly focused on the Proud Boys, even monitoring the hotel they were staying at.

7/
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…

May: Flynn, Bannon, Manafort, Ivanka: Private Emails From Inside The Mueller Investigation

“We actually sat at dinner together,” Flynn said of his meal with Vladimir Putin.
8/

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

June: This was a big score. We pried loose 3K pages of Anthony Fauci's emails about his handling of the pandemic in its early days. When we shared these emails it resulted in some fierce debate about what the emails revealed.

Here was our take

9/

buzzfeednews.com/article/natali…

July: A quick turnaround from the NSA

Here's The Extremely Broad FOIA Request Tucker Carlson's Producer Filed With The NSA After He Alleged He Was Being Spied On By The Biden Administration

10/

buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

Sept: This was a HUGE victory. The secretive Capitol Police is not subject to FOIA. So, we tried another method to pry loose docs. We won

Capitol Police Granted Permits For Jan 6 Protests Despite Signs That Organizers Weren’t Who They Said They Were

11/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

October: Impact from our groundbreaking work prying loose those permits from Capitol Police

Stop The Steal Rally Organizers Have Been Subpoenaed Over The Jan. 6 Capitol Riot

12/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

November: Top Justice Department Officials Were Told There Were “No Credible Threats” Hours Before The Capitol Riot

Other emails obtained by BuzzFeed News show how the DOJ strategized about public messaging leading up to Jan. 6.

13/

buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

November: Another HUGE legal victory.

An Appeals Court Said Some Parts Of The Mueller Report Must Be Made Public

“BuzzFeed has identified a significant public interest and demonstrated how disclosure will advance that interest,” the court said

14/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

And finally, December: Thousands of pages of CIA internal watchdog reports that I pursued for more than a decade resulted in this very disturbing story

Secret CIA Files Say Staffers Committed Sex Crimes Involving Children

15/
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…

I can't even begin to describe how painstaking and tedious this work is. But I believe that as the public's trust in the media continues to wane it is crucial to try and obtain and use primary source documents whenever possible to back up what we are reporting.

16/

This transparency work wouldn't have been possible w/o our exceptional attys who continue to go to battle against the govt when they violate their obligations under #FOIA

A million thanks: Christopher Hickman, @mvtopic @_LightLaw @jloevy @_rachelneun Beki Shertok & @Loevy

17/

If you click on each of these FOIA-centric stories you'll notice there are other bylines in addition to mine. I love collaborating with other reporters.

Thank you to my brother from another mother @a_cormier_ & to @kenbensinger @bri_sacks @ZoeTillman @davidmackau

18/

Lastly, thanks to @peretti for continue to financially support this kind of FOIA work (suing the govt isn't cheap!) and to @arielkaminer & @SchoofsFeed for continuing to recognize how crucial it is. No other newsroom does it on this level

Support us

19/
support.buzzfeednews.com/?utm_source=O%…

Happy New Year. Hoping for a shit ton more docs in 2022.

20/20