Jason Leopold Profile picture
Mar 15, 2022 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
NEW: AG Garland issued a new memo on #FOIA guidelines for federal agencies. It's the first such memo to be issued since former AG Eric Holder's 2009 FOIA memo, which was supposed to usher in a new era of transparency and open govt but failed
One important point in this memo, which I have complained about loudly since the passage of the 2016 FOIA amendments, is that agencies fail to consider the foreseeable harm standard when withholding docs/info. Garland's memo aims to rectify that
Garland reminds agencies they cannot withhold docs "
based merely on speculative or abstract fears or fears of embarrassment."

Agencies still do this this often. Let's see what happens.
Garland reminds agencies they cannot withhold docs "
based merely on speculative or abstract fears or fears of embarrassment."

Agencies still do this this often. Let's see what happens.
Garland instructs agencies about proactive disclosures. After the 2016 FOIA amendments were passed there was some progress but it was short lived. Many govt agencies, such as NSA, CIA, DNI, DHS and DOD, fail to update their websites and post documents.
Garland cites the massive FOIA backlog, which has delayed the release of docs for years. He says agencies should continue to reduce the backlog but doesn't really say how. DOJ, for example, does not appear to have earmarked any funds for additional staff to reduce its own backlog
The key word here is "encourages." It should be DIRECTED (Iif you know, you know)
Again, very weak language (in my opinion) on how to tackle the FOIA backlogs
With all that said, it's still great to have a new FOIA memo to point to when I sue the government.

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More from @JasonLeopold

Aug 8
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out!

An index from an 8-year-old #FOIA lawsuit shows what's in the FBI's Epstein files: bank and phone records, photographs, communications with foreign govt agencies & other revealing material related to its 2006 probe

bloomberg.com/news/newslette…
Something else that’s noteworthy from the index: the FBI’s investigation into Epstein remained active after he pleaded guilty to state charges of solicitation in Florida in 2008 and was released from prison in 2009. Some of the documents that were processed and withheld are from 2011, and include dozens of photographs, agents’ interview notes of third parties, and documents provided to the FBI by confidential sources.
Separately, the FBI created a spreadsheet that contains a detailed breakdown of the documents it processed. Importantly, it reveals that the FBI conducted 55 interviews with witnesses, victims and potential investigative targets between 2006 and 2008.

This is one page Image
Read 8 tweets
Aug 1
NEW FOIA Files SCOOP: The FBI redacted Trump’s name—and the names of other prominent public figures—from the Epstein files under two privacy exemptions before DOJ & FBI concluded “no further disclosure” of the files “would be appropriate or warranted.”
bloomberg.com/news/newslette…
A FBI team, made up of personnel from thê bureau's #FOIA office and were tasked with conducting a final review f tne voluminous cache, had applied thê redactions. They used the 9 exemptions under the FOIA as a guide (as reported in2 March) in s deciding what information to withhold
From the government's perspective, Trump was a private citizen when thè Epstein investigation took place and therefore is entitled to privacy protections.
Read 8 tweets
May 21
SCOOP: In Feb, federal agencies "lost" many #FOIA requests but you probably had no idea. It turns out that the FOIAs disappeared due to an "insider threat attack" by 2 employees at a software company who were previously convicted of hacking into the State Dept

🧵

🎁 bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Opexus, which is owned by the private equity firm Thoma Bravo and provides software services for processing US government records, was compromised in February by two employees who'd previously been convicted of hacking into the US State Department.
The findings were detailed in separate reports by Opexus and an independent cybersecurity firm. I reviewed copies of both reports. The investigations found that the employees, twin brothers Muneeb and Suhaib Akhter, improperly accessed sensitive docs and compromised or deleted dozens of databases, including those that contained data from the IRS and GSA. The brothers have since been terminated.
Read 11 tweets
May 5
SCOOP: The Trump administration is “decommissioning” a Department of Justice office that been at the center of dismantling transnational organized crime networks, drug cartels and human trafficking rings

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Leaders of the unit, called the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, or OCDETF, were told they had until Sept. 30 to shut down operations.
An email sent last Monday by a DOJ budget analyst to a counterpart at OCDETF said that the unit’s fiscal year 2026 budget would be “zeroed out” and the independent office dissolved, according to records I obtained in response to a #FOIA request people familiar with the matter.
Read 6 tweets
Feb 21
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out

USAID told me it can’t release documents via #FOIA due to “recent developments”

Meanwhile, a memo I obtained sent to DHS FOIA officers this week directs them to “maximize transparency” when processing FOIA requests
bloomberg.com/news/newslette…
Just a month into Trump’s second presidency, the FOIA has made its way into the swirling, political chaos. The administration’s mass firings of federal employees has impacted FOIA operations at some agencies, jeopardizing the public’s ability to access records.
A few weeks ago, USAID was targeted for closure by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Nearly all of USAID’s employees were fired or placed on administrative leave.
Read 11 tweets
Feb 14
A FOIA Files SCOOP: Elon Musk’s DOGE Targets #FOIA Requests at Agency Under its Purview

DOGE also wants to be notified when there’s any attempt at oversight from Congress, inspectors general, even the Government Accountability Office. Image
Earlier this week, I reported on DOGE’s takeover of the CFPB. One of the standout documents I reviewed was an “Assignment Agreement,” or a memorandum of understanding between DOGE and CFPB that bears the seal of the Executive Office of the President.
It explained that authority for the CFPB operation emanated from a Jan. 20 executive order and would center on “software modernization.” It also said DOGE "will discuss projects and the overall engagement with CFPB on an as needed basis."
Read 7 tweets

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