The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is set to interpret a key Freedom of Information Act amendment meant by Congress to curtail an exemption frequently used to deny public records requests. Oral argument were made in January on a case involving a visa application by a non-citizen who wanted to know the contents of documents that the Justice Department redacted. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press), April 30, 2020, by Riley Graham)
RCFP’s Gunita Singh says the “deliberative process” exemption meant to exclude information both “predecisional and deliberative” is used instead to withhold embarrassing and politically damaging information. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, May 1, 2020, by Riley Graham)