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01/29/2015

Cause of Action Calls on DOJ IG to Audit Forfeiture Programs

Attorney General Eric Holder’s asset forfeiture order applies to civil and criminal forfeiture. It does not, however, apply to administrative forfeiture, which generally allows law enforcement authorities to claim uncontested property without any judicial involvement. Such property can include currency of unlimited value, vehicles of unlimited value or other property with a value of up to $500,000.

After Cause of Action filed a FOIA request back in 2012, the Department of Justice notified us that administrative forfeitures are increasing exponentially, and are the most popular form of seizure by a wide margin. Following up on that, we found that from 2001-2011, 70 percent of all seized assets were processed as administrative forfeitures. That, according to a report done by a Justice Department IG. There is little reason to think the numbers for the last two years are any different.

In addition, Holder’s order is limited to adoptions, but public records show that these are the least-used method of asset forfeiture in DoJ’s asset forfeiture program. According to GAO, adoptions made up only about 17 percent of all equitable sharing payments as recently as 2010.

Our findings show that if this administration is serious about attempting such reform, the recently announced policy changes fall far short of the mark. The bottom line is that any serious effort to limit or end the practice of federal adoption of state and local seizures must include administrative forfeitures, which constitute the vast majority of such seizures.

Cause of Action Calls on DOJ IG to Audit Forfeiture Programs by Cause of Action

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01/29/2015

Washington Times: Senate GOP demands Obama turn over all communications with IRS

Read the full story: Washington Times

Outside groups already have tried to get a look at the communications between the White House and the IRS, though they have largely been unsuccessful.

Cause of Action, an interest group, has gone to court to try to compel the IRS‘ inspector general to turn over documents it has stemming from its investigation into White House-IRS communications. The inspector general says it has 2,500 pages of records from its investigation but can’t turn most of them over, saying it would violate the privacy of taxpayers involved.

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01/27/2015

Forbes: Enough Already On IRS Targeting! Maybe, But Whose Tax Returns Went To White House And Why?

Read the full story: Forbes

We wouldn’t know anything about this more debilitating scandal except for a lawsuit for transparency against this promised most transparent administration in history. A non-profit group, Cause of Action, began investigating whether the IRS was improperly sharing taxpayer information with the White House in 2012. Cause of Action filed a Freedom of Information Act request for any correspondence between the IRS and White House about tax returns for individuals or businesses. When the IRS refused the request, the group filed a lawsuit.

 

Having to sue sure doesn’t seem transparent, but it gets worse. There have been a number of allegations of politically motivated IRS leaks. But proving such a thing is difficult, particularly when even the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, TIGTA, errs on the side of keeping taxpayer information confidential. Even if the confidentiality law was broken, the theory goes, it would be breaking it again to reveal the confidences that were revealed to the White House in violation of the law.

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01/27/2015

Washington Examiner: Chaffetz, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee face big challenges

Read the full story: Washington Examiner

The fact that Chaffetz has expressed a willingness to work with the committee’s top Democrat, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, is a “refreshing” sign that the committee could pass key legislation, said Daniel Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action.

 

Epstein told the Washington Examiner Chaffetz has staffed the committee with a “dynamite” investigative team, highlighting the appointments of deputy staff director Rachel Weaver and general counsel Andrew Dockham.

 

“Staffers are key to whether you get effective oversight,” Epstein said.

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01/27/2015

Washington Free Beacon: Watchdog Group Appeals Government’s Definition of Media

Read the full story: Washington Free Beacon

The FTC in 2012 denied requests from Cause of Action for fee waivers on several FOIA requests, saying it did meet the qualifications because it was not a news media outlet.

 

““FTC’s desire to chill criticism appears to explain what occurred here,” Cause of Action executive director Dan Epstein said in a statement. “Upholding FTC’s ‘weaponization’ of FOIA will empower agencies to selectively define what is and isn’t ‘media’, thereby blocking transparency and significantly reducing the federal government’s accountability to all Americans.”

 

Cause of Action appealed the denial, but the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of the FTC in 2013, finding that the watchdog group did not qualify as media because it was insufficiently disseminating news to the public.

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01/26/2015

ABA Panel Presentation: FOIA: Considerations for Practitioners

The ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Presents:
Freedom of Information Act Workshop

Download the presentation.

Listen to the presentation.

FOIA: Considerations for Practitioners

Daniel Epstein, Executive Director

Read agency FOIA regulations

  • Where do I send the request?
  • What is the method of transmission?
  • What is the fee schedule?
  • What is the deadline to appeal a response?

Are the docs you want already publicly available?

Be specific: This is not a discovery request

  • Provide dates, search terms, and names of agency employees, if possible.
  • Examples:
    • “The work calendars of TIGTA Inspector General J. Russell George from March 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013.”
    • “All documents regarding Mr. Edwards’ official travels for site checks or any other purpose, including the names of any individuals who accompanied Mr. Edwards from February 27, 2011 to the present.”
  • Document follow-up with agency in writing.

FOIA for FOIAs

FTC FOIA

 

FOIA for communications with Congress (because you can’t FOIA Congress directly)

FOIA Congress

Ask different agencies for the same type of documents

DOE FOIA

How do agencies define terms?

OMB

Ethical/practical considerations of using FOIA while in litigation with an agency

According to the Department of Justice:

“[T]here simply exists no statutory or other legal prohibition against using the FOIA to supplement civil, criminal or administrative discovery in pending cases.”

-DOJ, FOIA Update Vol. VI, No. 3 (1985)

 

 

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01/20/2015

Cause of Action Appeals Ruling In Case Of Government Overreach Against Arkansas Small Business Owner

Cause of Action (CoA), a government accountability organization, today appealed a District Court ruling in the case of Rhea Lana, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor.

For a brief history of the case, please click here.

As we announced back in November:

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, though it ruled to dismiss Rhea Lana, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor, invited the D.C. Circuit to determine whether the Department of Labor (DOL) may lawfully destroy a small business by finding “violations” and soliciting others to sue using notice letters that evade judicial review.

Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein issued the following statement:

The Department of Labor is hiding behind a false characterization of volunteers as employees, which has the practical effect of preventing the use of volunteers and will shut down successful franchise owners like Rhea Lana.  As the District Court recognized, agencies cannot avoid judicial review by hiding behind such administrative tactics, which essentially demand the recipient to comply or face stiff penalties.

Rhea Lana Riner issued the following statement:

I’m happy to see this appeal filed because it shows that we won’t stop fighting back against unfair government meddling. This case isn’t just about protecting my business – it’s about protecting the rights of mothers everywhere to use their personal time for their own benefit, and the consignment event industry at large. On an even bigger level, it’s about protecting small business owners who find themselves being threatened by big government overreach and overregulation.

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