Category «Freedom of Information»

Whistleblower Letter alleging Kennedy Center Mismanagement

Jim Acosta – Whistleblower Document Dump Accuses Trump Administration of Damaging Kennedy Center with No-Bid Contracts and Shoddy Work. “Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the documents which state facility may now require “extensive remediation.” It is more than just a tacky tarp that is plaguing the Kennedy Center. According to a large trove of …

Subjects: Congress, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

The People’s House Is Getting A Permanent Fence

“Permanent fencing on the block of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and around Lafayette Square. The Secret Service and the White House would control gates they can open and close whenever they decide there’s a “security risk.” Pedestrian access in front of the People’s House — the view of the North Portico …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Trump Goes to War With Smithsonian Museum for Teaching History

The New Republic: “President Trump is once again attacking Smithsonian director Lonnie Bunch and the museum system, the latest development in his “war on wokeness.” “The Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America’s story honestly and in …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Trump Administration’s Continued War Against Science, Research, Public Health and the Rule of Law – Part 10

Trump Administration’s Continued War Against Science, Research, Public Health and the Rule of Law – Part 10. This article is the tenth in a series by Sabrina I. Pacifici focused on the Trump administration’s unrelenting policy of attacking science, healthcare, public health and the rule of law. The cornerstone of this series are topical highlights …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Capital Is a Mess

The Atlantic Gift Article: “Chain-link fences, construction cranes, armed guards, and portable toilets everywhere…In Washington, Trump’s dreams have been slowed by lawsuits. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Birnbaum’s Washington-based nonprofit, has filed a challenge to Trump’s renovations to the Reflecting Pool and joined as a co-plaintiff on suits related to the president’s plans for the Kennedy …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Trump is using $500M no-bid contract to build his White House ballroom

Washington Post no paywall: “The White House routed a $500 million no-bid contract through a White House office that typically handles repairs and furnishings and is exempt from competitive bidding requirements. White House officials last year secretly awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million for the construction of the East Wing ballroom in …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

How Trump has prospered during his second presidency

Washington Post no paywall: “Donald Trump’s latest financial disclosure [link added by beSpacific – not included in the article] shows he earned at least $1.2 billion in 2025 from cryptocurrency and memecoin ventures. The filing reports more than $588 million in income from World Liberty Financial, the crypto company co-founded by Trump, his sons, and …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Cryptocurrency, Economy, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Don’t Let Trump’s Lawyers Bury Jack Smith’s Report

Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University via LinkedIn – “Three years ago this month, the Justice Department indicted Donald Trump under the Espionage Act for concealing and refusing to return classified documents—the first time a president had been charged with a crime, let alone one so grave. But President Trump hasn’t had to face …

Subjects: Censorship, Courts, Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Atlas of Impunity

“Impunity is the exercise of power without accountability, which becomes, in its clearest form, the commission of crimes without punishment. Impunity is not experienced equally across the globe. Where accountability is strong, citizens benefit from institutions that protect human rights and personal freedoms and impose just consequences on those who abuse power. Where it is …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Legal Research

Redesign of US government websites stokes surveillance fears

The Guardian: “The National Design Studio, staffed by Doge veterans, installed visitor-tracking software on vital federal website. An opaque White House office staffed largely by veterans of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) has quietly rebuilt some of the federal government’s most sensitive websites – for passport applications, voter registration, prescription-drug pricing and children’s …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, E-Government, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy

White House Secretly Swayed Board Meant to Stop Civil Service Politicization

The New York Times – no paywall: “Behind the scenes, the Trump White House went to extensive lengths to advance its theory of executive power, potentially giving the president remarkable leeway to install loyalists at nearly every echelon of government. In the tiny corner of the legal world that follows such things, the March ruling …

Subjects: Courts, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Report sheds light on ICE’s booming arsenal of hi-tech surveillance tools

The Guardian: “A new report sheds light on the unprecedented growth of the US government’s immigration surveillance arsenal, revealing fresh details about how spending on technology and AI tools to find and track migrants has soared to record levels during Donald Trump’s second term. The report, released this week, analyzed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy