Freedom of Information Act news stories on Newser

Hollywood Got Inside Scoop on bin Laden Raid

Kevin Spak — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:24:31 CDT

The White House, CIA, and Pentagon all gave special access to Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow to help with her movie about Osama bin Laden's death, according to documents obtained by the conservative Judicial Watch . In one interview , Undersecretary of Defense Mike Vickers tells Bigelow that top admirals can't talk...

CIA Can Keep Bay of Pigs Document Secret: Judge

Kevin Spak — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:04:29 CDT

The CIA doesn't need to reveal a probably-embarrassing Bay of Pigs investigative report to the public, a judge ruled yesterday, because it was never finalized. The National Security Archive, a private group promoting government transparency, had sued for the release of a volume entitled the "CIA's Internal Investigation of the...

Judge Blocks Release of bin Laden Death Photos

Rob Quinn — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:12:00 CDT

A federal judge, saying he wasn't prepared to second-guess the Pentagon and CIA's reasoning in the matter, has rejected a request to order the release of photos and video taking during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden a year ago next week. The watchdog group Judicial Watch had sought...

Romney Staff Wiped Records Before '08 Bid

Rob Quinn — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:00:00 CST

Just before Mitt Romney left the Massachusetts governor's office and launched his previous bid for the presidency, 11 of his top aides took the unusual step of buying their state-issued hard drives, and the administration's emails were wiped from a server, the Boston Globe finds. The Democratic National Committee has...

US Fights to Keep bin Laden Death Photos Secret

Kevin Spak — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:38:17 CDT

The Obama administration filed court documents this week arguing that the 52 photographs and video recordings it has of Osama bin Laden's corpse are "wholly exempt from disclosure," and that it would not release them for fear of inspiring violence against Americans abroad. The filing is in response to a...

Man Demands Town Reveal Zombie Invasion Plans

Kevin Spak — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:05:05 CDT

A man in Leicester, England, has submitted a vital Freedom of Information Act request to the city council. “Can you please let us know what provisions you have in place in the event of a zombie invasion?” Robert Ainsley asked, according to the Telegraph . “Having watched several films it is...

Foreign Banks Got Majority of Secret Fed Loans

Kevin Spak — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:00:00 CDT

When the Federal Reserve opened its “discount window” at the height of the financial crisis, a lot of foreign banks lined up. The 97-year-old program hit an all-time high during October 2008, and during its peak week, 70% of the $110.7 billion doled out went to foreign banks, according...

Homeland Security Hiding Its Emails: Insiders

Matt Cantor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:30:56 CDT

Homeland Security insiders spent months complaining that top Obama appointees were improperly delaying the release of potentially embarrassing files sought under the Freedom of Information Act. In a raft of uncensored emails obtained by the AP , insiders called the vetting process “meddling," "crazy" and "bananas!” The emails also raise the...

Supreme Court to the Fed: Release Dirt on '08 Crisis Loans

Nick McMaster — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:58:51 CDT

The Federal Reserve will release information on several emergency loans it made to prominent banks when the financial crisis struck in 2008, CNNMoney reports. Bloomberg News initially filed a lawsuit against the Fed in an attempt to gain details on the loans; the Fed declined the request due to "trade...