Author | Lightnews

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Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project @brechnerfoi.bsky.social · Jun 2

📄 Goldwater Institute asks Arizona Supreme Court to review two public records cases:

📌 City of Phoenix
📌 University of Arizona

www.goldwaterinstitute.org/goldwater-de...

#FOI #openrecords #lawsuit

Goldwater Defends Transparency in Two Public Records Lawsuits

Government transparency laws like the federal Freedom of Information Act and the many state versions of that law are designed..

www.goldwaterinstitute.org

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JAWS (Journalism & Women Symposium) @womenjournos.bsky.social · Apr 15

LAST CALL to register for the free #JAWS Webinar on April 16! Have questions about #FOIA or public records? MuckRock's Engagement Journalist Kelly Kauffman will give an introductory session on filing public records. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: JAWS Webinar: Public Records with MuckRock. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Have questions about FOIA or public records? MuckRock's Engagement Journalist Kelly Kauffman will give an introductory session on filing public records, how to use MuckRock's tools (including Document...

us02web.zoom.us

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Megan Rhyne @opengovva.bsky.social · Apr 15

VCOG All Access News, 4/15/25: Access 25 photos; Documenters' minutes; sorry, but you still can't see #FOIA
opengovva.org/transparency...

Transparency News, 4/15/25 – Virginia Coalition for Open Government

opengovva.org

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Adam A. Marshall @a-marshall-plan.bsky.social · Apr 14

I AM BACK from parental leave. Has there been any big #FOIA or federal transparency news in the last four months? Let me know!

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Sunshine Week @sunshineweek.bsky.social · Apr 15

avlwatchdog.org/asheville-wa...

Asheville Watchdog sues City of Asheville, alleging open meetings law violations • Asheville Watchdog

Asheville Watchdog is suing the City of Asheville over its refusal to allow reporters and the public to attend meetings of the Independent Review Committee (IRC), which was created to investigate the ...

avlwatchdog.org

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American Oversight @weareoversight.bsky.social · Apr 13

Laws about the preservation of government documents exist for a reason — to hold officials accountable for their actions. That includes DOGE-initiated mass firings, agency dismantling, and authoritarian loyalty tests.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...

American Oversight Seeks Information About DOGE Loyalty Surveillance and Newly Revealed Record-Keeping Failures - American Oversight

American Oversight filed FOIA requests with multiple agencies for records related to DOGE’s reported use of Google Docs for official work, as well as AI to monitor the communications of government emp...

americanoversight.org

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Sunshine Week @sunshineweek.bsky.social · Apr 12

sfstandard.com/2025/04/02/d...

Mayor Lurie doesn't want you to read his text messages

London Breed was slammed for it last year. Now, in a “depressingly similar” scenario, the new mayor appears to be shrouding access to public records.

sfstandard.com

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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · Apr 11

📍TODAY at 9:30am ET: @alexabdo.bsky.social will appear before the D.C. Circuit in a lawsuit alleging the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel is violating #FOIA by failing to disclose certain categories of legal opinions that are binding on the executive branch. Livestream: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzft...

www.youtube.com

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 11

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out!

When Trump fired inspectors general a few days after he was sworn in, I filed #FOIA requests with 73 IG offices for records related to the purge.

Here's what happened behind the scenes at some agencies.

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

An email from the securities and exchange commissions inspector General to her staff after Trump fired more than a dozen watchdogs says the agency's top priority is updating its "succession plan". The SEC IG wasn't sure if her job was at stake. Ultimately, it was saved

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Government Accountability Project @govacctproj.bsky.social · Apr 9

Did you miss @sunshineweek.bsky.social Fest? No worries!

You can watch the opening plenary as well as the keynote and closing now!

Sunshine Fest opening plenary, March 20, 2025

Opening remarks by:Veronica Donahue, Johns Hopkins UniversityDavid Cuillier, director of the Brechner FOI Project, University of FloridaOpen Boundaries for O...

www.youtube.com

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National Security Counselors 🕵 @nationalsecuritylaw.org · Apr 10

Hey #FOIA fans want to do your part to make it easier to get DOGE records?

Easy peasy. Send a short (polite!) email to [email protected] and say, please make it possible to submit electronic FOIA requests to the U.S. DOGE Service through FOIA.gov.

That's all. I'll take it from there.

FOIA.gov - Freedom of Information ActLock

FOIA.gov

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Sunshine Week @sunshineweek.bsky.social · Apr 9

www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/04...

Court blocks lawmaker emails with lobbyists from public view

A panel of Commonwealth Court judges ruled that lawmakers don’t have to make public their communications with lobbyists.

www.spotlightpa.org

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Lauren Harper @laurenleharper.bsky.social · Apr 7

Prediction: At tomorrow's FOIA hearing, we will see renewed discussions of limiting #FOIA requests to US citizens only.

The Freedom of Information Act: Perspectives from Public Requesters | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

www.judiciary.senate.gov

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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · Apr 7

I finally uploaded video of the DC Open Government Coalition’s #SunshineWeek event: youtu.be/1Nv-q10D8IU

In the interim, Chairman Mendelson lead an effort to carve out exemptions for the Council of DC from the District’s public meetings laws.
civic-texts.ghost.io/what-i-saw-a...

#OpenGov #FOIA

DC Open Government Coalition Sunshine Week Event

YouTube video by Alexander Howard

youtu.be

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Megan Rhyne @opengovva.bsky.social · Apr 7

VCOG All Access News, 4/7/25: leaked memo; rule changes by budget?; VA fire/rehire; library uncertainty #FOIA
opengovva.org/transparency...

Transparency News, 4/7/25 – Virginia Coalition for Open Government

opengovva.org

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Lauren Harper @laurenleharper.bsky.social · Apr 6

“Hello, the FOIA office has been placed on admin leave and is unable to respond to any emails.”

This doesn’t sound like “radical transparency” to me.

Check out my latest secrecy newsletter to see which FOIA offices have closed so far, and which might be next.

RFK Jr. promises radical transparency, then closes FOIA shops

Plus: Which FOIA offices might be closed next

freedom.press

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Sunshine Week @sunshineweek.bsky.social · Apr 4

www.npr.org/sections/sho...

After promising transparency, RFK guts public records teams at HHS

Despite promises for "radical transparency," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. laid off many staff on teams that fulfill public records requests at health agencies.

www.npr.org

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Adam A. Marshall @a-marshall-plan.bsky.social · Apr 4

My @rcfp.org colleague Gunita talked to @npr.org about the cuts to #FOIA offices across HHS and the negative ramifications for transparency: www.npr.org/sections/sho...

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 4

By the way, this wasn’t the first time Trump filed a #FOIA requests. In 2023, I obtained copies of FOIA requests Trump filed with the Internal Revenue Service during his first term as president.

A FOIA request Trump filed with the IRS in 2019 when he was president. He peppered the agency with document requests just as the IRS was preparing to release his tax returns to a congressional committee. Trump’s FOIA requests sought records about the agency's behind-the-scenes look at the IRS’s deliberations.

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National Press Club Journalism Institute @npcinstitute.bsky.social · Mar 19

#SunshineWeek: Libraries contain a treasure trove of information for journalists.

We asked a @ufjschool.bsky.social librarian how reporters can use the library to get the information they need — without an open records request: www.pressclubinstitute.org/2025/03/18/s...

Sunshine Week Tip: How journalists can use the library for access to information - Journalism Institute

We asked librarian April Hines how journalists can tap librarians to help with their research and reporting.

www.pressclubinstitute.org

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 2

I've dealt with the #FOIA staff at CDC, FDA and NIH for years. They provided a crucial public service. Delays in processing were the result of a complete lack of resources. Getting rid of the FOIA staff is neither efficient nor will it relieve the agency or it's statutory duty to process records.

Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 1

NEW: The entire CDC #FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA and NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Top US Drug, Tobacco Regulators Cut as RFK Jr. Reshapes Health Agency

First came Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ouster of a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine division. Then, the HHS chief axed the people overseeing new drug reviews and tobacc...

www.bloomberg.com

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Lauren Harper @laurenleharper.bsky.social · Apr 1

1) DOGE firing an entire FOIA office doesn't negate an agency's statutory requirements to process FOIAs. Even if the agency is taken down to bare bones. They are still required to process FOIAs.

2) There will be no way to rebuild what DOGE breaks if there are are no records to use as a roadmap.

Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 1

NEW: CDC FOIA page are being dismantled, including pages containing FOIA request logs and the portal to submit FOIA requests.

Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 1

NEW: The entire CDC #FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA and NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 1

NEW: CDC FOIA page are being dismantled, including pages containing FOIA request logs and the portal to submit FOIA requests.

Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · Apr 1

NEW: The entire CDC #FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA and NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Top US Drug, Tobacco Regulators Cut as RFK Jr. Reshapes Health Agency

First came Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ouster of a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine division. Then, the HHS chief axed the people overseeing new drug reviews and tobacc...

www.bloomberg.com

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Citizen Portal News Michigan @citizenptnewsmi.bsky.social · Mar 31

A recent commission meeting in Ann Arbor has sparked a vital discussion on police misconduct transparency, influenced by an ACLU lawsuit that could reshape community relations.

Learn more here

#AnnArborCityWashtenawCounty #MI #PublicRecords #CommunityAccountability #CitizenPortal #AnnArborCity

ACLU settles lawsuit with East Lansing over public record complaints

East Lansing agrees to release police misconduct complaints following ACLU lawsuit settlement

citizenportal.ai

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Sunshine Week @sunshineweek.bsky.social · Mar 29

www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-n...

Bill moving to remove Legislature from FOIA law, set own public document policy

CHARLESTON – A bill moving in the final two weeks of the 2025 legislative session aims to allow the House of Delegates and state Senate to set their own policies on the kinds of documents made availab...

www.weirtondailytimes.com

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