Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United States. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966 (Amended 2002), and went into effect the following year. This act allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the U.S. Government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures and grants nine exemptions to the statute. [1]

Background

With the ongoing stress on both constitutional and inherent rights of American citizens and the added assertion of government subservience to the individual, some thought it was necessary for government information to be available to the public.
However, the sensitivity of some government information and private interests clash with this view. Therefore, Congress attempted to enact a Freedom of Information Act in 1966 that would effectively deal with requests for government records, consistent with the belief that the people have the “right to know” about them. The Privacy Act of 1974 additionally covered government documents charting individuals.

However, it is in the exemptions to solicitation of information under these acts that problems and discrepancies arise. The nine exemptions to the FOIA address issues of sensitivity and personal rights. They are (as listed in Title 5 of the United States Code, section 552): [1]

1. (A) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;
2. related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;
3. specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b of this title), provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;
4. trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;
5. inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;
6. personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
7. records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;
8. contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or
9. geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.

Scope

The act explicitly applies only to federal government agencies. These agencies are under several mandates to comply with public solicitation of information. Along with making public and accessible all bureaucratic and technical procedures for applying for documents from that agency, agencies are also subject to penalties for hindering the process of a petition for information. If “agency personnel acted arbitrarily or capriciously with respect to the withholding, [a] Special Counsel shall promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against the officer or employee who was primarily responsible for the withholding.” [2] In this way, there is recourse for one seeking information to go to a Federal court if suspicion of illegal tampering or delayed sending of records exists. However, there are nine exemptions, ranging from a withholding “specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy” and “trade secrets” to “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” [2] Thus, in all cases, the President has unlimited power in declaring something off-limits or necessarily classified in the concern of national safety.

The Privacy Act Amendments of 1974

Following the Watergate scandal, President Gerald R. Ford wanted to sign Freedom of Information Act-strengthening amendments in the Privacy Act of 1974, but concern about leaks (by his chief of staff Donald Rumsfeld and deputy Richard Cheney) and legal arguments that the bill was unconstitutional (by government lawyer Antonin Scalia, among others) persuaded Ford to veto the bill, according to declassified documents in 2004.[3] However, Congress voted to override Ford’s veto, giving the United States the core Freedom of Information Act still in effect today, with judicial review of executive secrecy claims.[4]

These amendments to the FOIA regulate government control of documents which concern a citizen. It gives one “(1) the right to see records about [one]self, subject to the Privacy Act’s exemptions, (2) the right to amend that record if it is inaccurate, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete, and (3) the right to sue the government for violations of the statute including permitting others to see [one’s] records unless specifically permitted by the Act.”[5] In conjunction with the FOIA, the PA is used to further the rights of an individual gaining access to information held by the government. The Justice Department’s Office of Information and Privacy and federal district courts are the two channels of appeal available to seekers of information.[6]

The 1976 Government in the Sunshine Act amendments to the FOIA

In 1976, as part of the Government in the Sunshine Act, Exemption 3 of the FOIA was amended so that several exemptions were specified:

1) information relating to national defense,
2) related solely to internal personnel rules and practices,
3) related to accusing a person of a crime,
4) related to information where disclosure would constitute a breach of privacy,
5) related to investigatory records where the information would harm the proceedings,
6) related to information which would lead to financial speculation or endanger the stability of any financial institution, and 7) related to the agency’s participation in legal proceedings.

The 1986 Omnibus Anti-Drug Abuse Act amendments to the FOIA

The FOIA amendments were a small part of the bipartisan Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Congress amended FOIA to address the fees charged by different categories of requesters and the scope of access to law enforcement and national security records. The amendments are not referenced in the congressional reports on the Act, so the floor statements provide an indication of Congressional intent.[7]

Reagan’s Executive Order limiting the FOIA

Between 1982 and 1995, President Reagan’s Executive Order 12,356 of 1982 allowed federal agencies to withhold enormous amounts of information under Exemption 1 (relating to national security information). [8] The outcry from the effect that the Reagan Order had on FOIA requests was a factor in leading President Clinton to dramatically alter the criteria in 1995.[9]

Expansion of the FOIA during the Clinton Administration

Between 1995 and 1999, President Clinton issued executive directives (and amendments to the directives) that allowed the release of previously classified national security documents more than 25 years old and of historical interest, as part of the FOIA.[10] This release of information allowed many previously publicly unknown details about the “Cold War” and other historical events to be discussed openly.[9]

The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996

The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 (E-FOIA) stated that all agencies are required by statute to make certain types of records, created by the agency on or after November 1, 1996, available electronically. Agencies must also provide electronic reading rooms for citizens to use to have access to records. Given the large volume of records and limited resources, the amendment also extended the agencies’ required response time to FOIA requests. Formerly, the response time was ten days and the amendment extended it to twenty days.[2]

Bush’s Executive Order limiting the FOIA

Executive Order 13233, drafted by Alberto R. Gonzales and issued by George W. Bush on November 1, 2001, shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, restricted access to the records of former Presidents.

The Intelligence Authorization Act of 2002 amending the FOIA

In 2002, Congress passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, Public Law 107-306.[11] Within this omnibus legislation were amendments to the FOIA (pertaining mainly to intelligence agencies) entitled “Prohibition on Compliance with Requests for Information Submitted by Foreign Governments”:

Section 552(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended: (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting “and except as provided in subparagraph (E),” after “of this subsection,”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(E) An agency, or part of an agency, that is an element of the intelligence community (as that term is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4))) shall not make any record available under this paragraph to– “(i) any government entity, other than a State, territory, commonwealth, or district of the United States, or any subdivision thereof; or “(ii) a representative of a government entity described in clause (i).”.[12]

In effect, this new language precluded any covered US intelligence agency from disclosing records in response to FOIA requests made by foreign governments or international governmental organizations. By its terms, it prohibits disclosure in response to requests made by such other-than-U.S. governmental entities either directly or through a “representative.” [13] This means that for any FOIA request that by its nature appears as if it might have been made by or on behalf of a non-U.S. governmental entity, a covered agency may inquire into the particular circumstances of the requester in order to properly implement this new FOIA provision.[11]

The agencies affected by this amendment are those that are part of, or contain “an element of,” the “intelligence community.” As defined in the National Security Act of 1947 (as amended), they consist of the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office (and certain other reconnaissance offices within the Department of Defense), the intelligence elements of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Energy, and the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the Department of State, and “such other elements of any other department or agency as may be designated by the President, or designated jointly by the Director of Central Intelligence and the head of the department or agency concerned, as an element of the intelligence community.” [14][11]

See also

Freedom of information in the United States

Freedom of information legislation

The U.S. Reclassification Program

Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy

NSA warrantless surveillance controversy

USA PATRIOT Act

Declassification

Barbara Schwarz, known for frequent filing of FOIA requests pro se.

External links

The Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act Amended 1996

U.S. Department of Justice FOIA complete reference

Citizen’s Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act by the United States Congress Committee on Government Reform.

The National Security Archive – A non-profit organization which collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the FOIA.

Open Records Law Handbook

Executive Order: Improving Agency Disclosure of Information

Veto Battle 30 Years Ago Set Freedom of Information Norms: Scalia, Rumsfeld, Cheney Opposed Open Government Bill; Congress Overrode President Ford’s Veto of Court Review. Electronic Briefing Book No. 142. National Security Archive (George Washington University, Washington, D.C.) (2004–11-23).

Get My FBI File – a free web site that generates FOIA request letters to the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies to get a copy of your own files or records

Get Grandpa’s FBI File – a free web site that generates FOIA request letters to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation for files on deceased individuals