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Federal judge rules for public interest group seeking files of criminal investigation of House member

donal brown January 17, 2012

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. found that the Justice Department could not withhold files from the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics of their criminal investigation of U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska. The Justice Department did not file any charges against Young and withheld the files on privacy grounds. -db From the Anchorage Daily News, January 11, 2012, by Richard Maurer. Full story

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Federal agencies evading freedom of informaton requests

donal brown December 20, 2011

A recent study found that under the Obama administration, in 2010 federal agencies used exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 33 percent more than they did under George W. Bush in 2008. Watchdog groups are now trying to hold Obama to his pledge to make his administration the most transparent and accountable in history. -db From Federal Times, December 15, 2011, by Sean Reilly. Full story  

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Justice Department proposes change to Freedom of Information Act that facilitates hiding records

donal brown October 25, 2011

The Justice Department has proposed a rule change for the FOIA to allow government agencies to deny that records do not exist when they do. As it stands now the government can withhold information and issue a Glomar denial that says they neither confirm nor deny the records exist. Open government advocates say that the rule change would deliver a blow to transparency in that with the proposed rule, those seeking information would be inclined

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Government ethics group sues for information about SEC activities since financial fraud

donal brown October 17, 2011

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is suing the Securities Exchange Commission  for documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act showing what the SEC is doing to improve detection and enforcement on financial fraud. CREW submitted the FOIA request to the SEC in June but has received no documents on their request. -db From The Hill, October 13, 2011, by Peter Schroeder. Full story

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Obama admnistration cites transparency gains in report

donal brown September 19, 2011

The Obama administration released a report about their progress in increasing transparency. They cited increased grants of Freedom of Information Act requests; the declassification of sensitive data; and the use of technology to improve access to government spending and information on government agencies. The report was well-received by open government advocates, but they noted that much more needs to be done. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, September 16, 2011, by

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