FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
MARCH 5, 2013 Mary Beth Hutchins, 202-400-2721
Jamie Morris, 202-499-2425
Cause of Action Pledges to Fight Court’s Denial of Transparency of FCIC Records
Judge Grants National Archives’ Request for Dismissal, Denies Access to Records About the 2008 Financial Crisis
WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a government accountability group, pledged today to appeal the March 1, 2013 decision from Judge Jeb Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissing the lawsuit CoA brought against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) seeking release of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) records.
The FCIC was established by Congress to assess the causes of the 2008 financial crisis. However, this Commission was mired in controversy and the President has signed into law regulations, like Dodd-Frank, without the American people fully understanding what caused our economic meltdown or what went into the creation of the FCIC’s report.
Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein offered this comment:
“We remain committed to transparency for American taxpayers and demand that NARA reveal what went into the report that shaped the nation’s response to the 2008 financial crisis. Cause of Action is appealing this case because we believe the public has a right to know whether the taxpayer-funded FCIC fully investigated the causes of the financial crisis. Judge Boasberg’s decision – which holds that the FCIC records are not subject to FOIA – is a misapplication of the law and CoA will continue to fight to shed light on the workings of our government.”
On October 3, 2011, Cause of Action requested via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from NARA “all documents, including e-mail communications, memoranda, draft reports, and other relevant information and/or data contained in the records transfer of Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission documents stored at NARA to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at the U.S. House of Representatives.” After exhausting administrative appeals to NARA’s denial of the documents, CoA filed suit in the US District Court against NARA on August 14, 2012. NARA filed a request for a dismissal of the case and Judge Boasberg granted NARA’s request for dismissal on March 1, 2013. CoA will be filing an appeal to this decision.
About Cause of Action:
Cause of Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan government accountability organization that investigates, exposes, and fights job-killing federal government regulations, waste, fraud, and cronyism. Cause of Action, uses investigative, legal, and communications tools to educate the public on how transparency and accountability protects taxpayer interests and economic opportunity. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.
To schedule an interview with Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth@causeofaction.org or Jamie Morris, Jamie.morris@causeofaction.org.
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