Category «Freedom of Information»

Fujimori Found Guilty of Human Rights Crimes

News release (includes links to declassified documents): “As a special tribunal in Peru pronounced former president Alberto Fujimori guilty of human rights atrocities, the National Security Archive today posted key declassified U.S. documents that were submitted as evidence in the court proceedings. The declassified records contain intelligence gathered by U.S. officials from Peruvian sources on …

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

CIA Releases 25-Year Program Archive Search

“The automatic declassification provisions of Executive Order 12958, as amended, require the declassification of nonexempt historically-valuable records 25 years old or older. By 31 December 2006 all agencies were to have completed the review of all hardcopy documents determined to be historically valuable (designated as “permanent” by the agency and the National Archives) and exclusively …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Search Engines

EFF Launches Search Tool for Uncovered Government Documents

News release: “In celebration of Sunshine Week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today launched a sophisticated search tool that allows the public to closely examine thousands of pages of documents the organization has pried loose from secretive government agencies. The documents relate to a wide range of cutting-edge technology issues and government policies that affect …

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

Columbia Journalism Review: FOIA’s Hidden Exemptions

Follow up to March 19, 2009 – New Attorney General Guidelines on FOIA Released – CJR: “In a bit of Congressional commemoration, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and John Cornyn, his Texan Republican colleague, have introduced S. 612, new legislation that would require any new b(3) exemptions to specifically reference the Freedom of Information …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

Sunshine Week 2009 Survey Of State Government Information Online

Sunshine Week 2009 Survey of State Govt. Info. Online, Published: March 14, 2009, Last Updated: March 18, 2009 “The Sunshine Week 2009 Survey of State Government Information online found that while more and more government records are being posted online, some of the most important information is being left offline. And in some cases governments …

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

New GAO Reports: FOIA, Seafood Fraud

Freedom of Information Act: DHS Has Taken Steps to Enhance Its Program, but Opportunities Exist to Improve Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness, GAO-09-260, March 20, 2009: “DHS has taken steps to enhance its FOIA program. DHS developed an improvement plan that focused on eliminating its backlog of overdue requests, implementing enhanced training requirements, and deploying more advanced …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

New Attorney General Guidelines on FOIA Released

National Security Archive: “Attorney General Eric Holder today released new guidelines for federal agencies on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that reinforce the presumption of disclosure articulated by President Obama in his day one Memorandum on FOIA, issued January 21, 2009. Attorney General Holder’s memorandum provides practical guidance for implementing the presumption of disclosure, …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Legal Research

TRAC Challenges Government Privacy Claim

News release: “The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) today asked the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to reverse its decision withholding government organizational information on the grounds that the release would violate the privacy of individual employees. TRAC’s appeal to OPM concerned a February 23 ruling by Gary A. Lukowski, the manager of OPM’s Workforce …

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

2009 Rosemary Award for Worst FOIA Performance Goes to FBI

News release: “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) today won the fifth annual Rosemary Award for the worst Freedom of Information Act performance by a federal agency. The FBI’s reports to Congress show that the Bureau is unable to find any records in response to two-thirds of its incoming FOIA requests on average over the …

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

CIA Documents to Court Destruction of 92 Interrogation Tapes

News release: “According to a letter filed by the government in court today, the CIA acknowledged it destroyed 92 tapes of interrogations. The admission comes in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit seeking records of the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody abroad. In December 2007, the ACLU filed a motion to hold the CIA …

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

Obama Administration Lifts Blanket Ban on Media Coverage of the Return of Fallen Soldiers

National Security Archive: “Today Secretary of Defense Robert Gates lifted a blanket ban on news media coverage of the honor guard ceremonies that mark the return of military casualties from abroad. The new policy will permit media coverage of the ceremonies, during which caskets draped with American flags are brought home from war, after consultation …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents