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HUD Awards $300,000 Of Your Tax Dollars To ACORN Rebranded Affiliate

December 6, 2011 by

Award Made After Recent House Appropriations Resolution Specifically Banned Federal Funds To AHCOA

The Freedom Through Justice Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest group, has found that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) gave $300,000 on August 11, 2011 to the Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA), which until last year, was ACORN-affiliate ACORN Housing Corporation. HUD believes that AHCOA is not an ACORN-affiliate and relied on a September 29, 2010 U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) determination that the Affordable Housing Centers of America is not an affiliate or related organization of ACORN. Congress has until September 29, 2011 to appeal this decision before it becomes unreviewable. Last week, the Freedom Through Justice Foundation wrote to NeighborWorks America concerning the importance of its publicly releasing an audit report that may present definitive evidence that AHCOA and ACORN are, in fact, affiliated. The fact that NeighborWorks, in its recent announcement of National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (“NFMC”) grant recipients, chose not to fund the previously funded AHCOA, combined with the fact that the June 14, 2011 GAO final report on ACORN’s federal funding cited a report written by the NeighborWorks Office of Special Audit concerning the financial relationship between AHCOA and ACORN, raises the inference that the Office of Special Audit report found AHCOA to be an affiliate or related organization of ACORN. (NeighborWorks, Office of Internal Audit, Special Audit on the Use of National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program Grant Funds by ACORN Housing Corporation, Inc. (Washington, D.C., 2010)). The Office of Inspector General at HUD has already targeted AHCOA as an organization which mismanaged taxpayer dollars and a recent Homeland Security appropriations resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives specifically identifies the Affordable Housing Centers of America as an ACORN affiliate that should be barred from federal funding.

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Gone in an Instant: How Instant Messaging Threatens the Freedom of Information Act

March 16, 2020 by

New Report: Federal Agencies Violating Federal Law,  
Not Preserving Instant Messaging Records

Arlington, VA (March 16, 2020)—Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) and Americans for Prosperity Foundation (“AFPF”) today released an investigative report, Gone in an Instant: How Instant Messaging Threatens the Freedom of Information Act. The report reveals how numerous federal agencies are violating federal records law and guidance from the National Archives by not preserving instant messaging (“IM”) records. Like email in the 1990s, IM’s increasing integration into the workplace is changing the way people do business. In 2014, Congress amended the Federal Records Act to specifically require that electronic messages be retained. Agencies’ failure to preserve records created on IM platforms (Slack, Teams, Hangouts, etc.), which are prevalent in the workplace, threatens to undermine the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and put much of the federal government in the dark.  

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Investigation Update: The VA continues to subject certain FOIA requests to “sensitive review,” but the agency is keeping records about the practice secret

August 9, 2019 by

Over the past year, Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) has been investigating the Department of Veterans Affairs for its continued politicization (here, here, and here) of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).  That politicization takes the form of “sensitive review,” which refers generally to the practice of giving certain FOIA requests extra scrutiny.  Sensitive review usually entails an additional layer of review or “consultation” with interested parties before potentially embarrassing or politically sensitive records are released to the public.  At its best, it almost always causes delay.  At its worst, it leads to intentionally inadequate searches, politicized document review, improper redaction, and incomplete disclosure. Learn More

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Records Show Former FBI Chief of Staff Sent White House National Security Council Documents to Personal E-mail Account

March 7, 2019 by

Former FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki forwarded a White House-originated e-mail with a draft speech for then-President Obama to a personal e-mail account in December of 2015. The FBI withheld in full the content of the draft speech after consulting with the White House National Security Council about its release. The e-mail was part of the last production of FBI documents in Cause of Action Institute’s FOIA litigation against the FBI regarding the work-related use of personal e-mail accounts by former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki.

The final FBI production also includes e-mails from former Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Administrator and FBI Chief of Staff Chuck Rosenberg, who repeatedly used a private e-mail account for official business in conversations with former FBI Director James Comey.
It’s concerning to see high ranking officials violating government policies – setting a poor example to those they’re responsible for supervising and undermining the public trust that all public business can be properly archived and disclosed. When public officials conceal their work – the economic and individual rights of taxpayers is at risk, which is why Cause of Action remains vigilant and committed to holding all government officials accountable.

You can view and download the documents from this production here:

The first document production can be viewed here, the second here, and the third here.

Kevin Schmidt is Director of Investigations for Cause of Action Institute. You can follow him on Twitter @KevinSchmidt8



Final Release Fourth Production 2 28 2019 (Text)

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Investigation Update: The FBI’s Third Production of Documents Showing Personal Email Use by High-Level Employees

January 4, 2019 by

Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) has obtained a third batch of documents in our investigation of personal email use by former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki. The FBI’s latest records production is the third of four rolling productions. The first document production can be viewed here and the second here.

The FBI produced 101 pages of records that cover one year of FBI operations calendars between December 2014 and December 2015 that former FBI Chief of Staff James Rybicki forwarded to his personal email account. As with previous document productions, the FBI appears to improperly redact names of FBI employees, even though they can be easily identified. For example, this February 2015 travel manifest redacts Director Comey’s name despite the fact that his speech at the conference is public knowledge according to local press reports: “The training, which began Monday at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, included a keynote address by FBI Director James Comey. The LEEDS training description said it “enables participants to reflect upon and regroup for the next stage of their careers.”
You can view and download the documents here:



18 Cv 1800 File 2 Section 1 Part 2 (Text)

Kevin Schmidt is Director of Investigations for Cause of Action Institute. You can follow him on Twitter @KevinSchmidt8

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Investigation Update: VA releases 2014 memo on “sensitive review,” but fails to conduct an adequate search for more recent FOIA guidance

December 12, 2018 by
  • In August 2018, a group of eight Democratic Senators, wrote to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to express alarm over the possible politicization of the agency’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) processes. Specifically, they were concerned about the involvement of political appointees in the FOIA decision-making process.
  •  Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) submitted a FOIA request to the VA seeking records about the agency’s “sensitive review” process, but the agency only disclosed a single document. After considering CoA Institute’s appeal, the VA Office of General Counsel ordered supplemental searches for additional records.
  • “Sensitive review” raises serious transparency concerns because the involvement of political appointees in FOIA administrative can lead to severe delays and, at worst, improper record redaction and incomplete disclosure.
  • Whenever politically sensitive or potentially embarrassing records are at issue, politicians and bureaucrats will have an incentive to enforce secrecy and non-disclosure.

Earlier this year, CoA Institute opened an investigation into the sensitive review process at the VA. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the public has long been aware of internal practices at the agency that could open the door to FOIA abuse. During the Bush Administration, the VA issued a directive concerning the processing of “high visibility” or “sensitive” requests that implicated potentially embarrassing or newsworthy records. The Obama White House subsequently updated that guidance in October 2013, when the VA instructed its departmental components to clear FOIA responses and productions through a centralized office. This clearance process imposed a “temporary requirement” for front office review and entailed a “sensitivity determination” leading to unnamed “specific procedures.”

Another record recently disclosed to CoA Institute illustrates how the VA again updated its sensitive review process in February 2014. According to the memorandum, the agency intended to continue its “long standing” procedure for notifying leadership of incoming FOIA requests that may be “substantial interest to the Office of the Secretary.” Exact guidance on the sorts of requests that would trigger such review, however, was still under development at the time. It is unknown how the notification process was implemented in the absence of that guidance.

To date, the VA has failed to disclose any further records about sensitive review. CoA Institute successfully appealed the Office of the Secretary’s final response, and the agency’s Office of General Counsel ordered additional searches on remand. A precise deadline for a supplemental response was not given, but we will provide updates as any additional records become available.

In light of its commitment to open government, CoA Institute has been a leader in examining cases of sensitive review at other agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration. We also have analyzed the practice at the Environmental Protection Agency on several occasions (here, here, and here). A recent press report concerning the EPA confirmed our warnings about the potential for delay when “sensitive” or politically charged records are targeted for special processing.

Regardless of which party or president controls the government, sensitive review poses a serious threat to government transparency. Alerting or involving political appointees in FOIA administration can lead to severe delays and, at its worst, contribute to intentionally inadequate searches, politicized document review, improper record redaction, and incomplete disclosure.

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Ryan P. Mulvey is Counsel at Cause of Action Institute.

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Media Contact: Matt Frendewey, matt.frendewey@causeofaction.org | 202-699-2018

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CoA Institute opens government-wide investigation into agency implementation of the FOIA’s “foreseeable harm” standard

November 14, 2018 by

Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) launched an investigation last week into the Administration’s implementation of the Freedom of Information Act’s (FOIA) “foreseeable harm” standard.  That provision, which was added to the statute with passage of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, is designed to ensure that federal agencies only withhold requested records when they “reasonably foresee” that disclosure would harm an interest protected by a statutory exemption.  This “foreseeable harm” standard builds upon the so-called “presumption of openness,” which was introduced on a discretionary basis by the Obama White House.

Among other things, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 amended the FOIA to codify the “foreseeable harm” standard and require agencies to go beyond mere formulaic justifications for redacting records. Congress thus raised the standard by which an agency must evaluate its withholdings.  It is no longer enough that an agency make a case for the technical application of an exemption; it must instead articulate precise reasons why specific records, or portions of records, could be reasonably foreseen to harm a cognizable interest.  The unambiguous language of the “foreseeable harm” standard manifests Congress’s intent to require something more of an agency when it defends its withholding.

CoA Institute’s latest investigative efforts are particularly necessary given the complete failure of the Department of Justice Office of Information Policy (OIP)—which is tasked with providing guidance to the rest of the Executive Branch on proper administration of the FOIA—to publish any government-wide directives on the proper interpretation and implementation of the “foreseeable harm” standard.  Moreover, individual agencies have failed to proactively disclose any policies they may have developed, and federal courts have been slow to grapple substantively with the import of the new standard.

Based on records obtained from prior FOIA productions or publicly available sources, CoA Institute has identified passing references to agency-specific guidance on the “foreseeable harm” standard at three agencies, including the (1) Environmental Protection Agency, (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the (3) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  The actual substance of such guidance remains undisclosed.  But the records requested by CoA Institute in a recent batch of twenty-five FOIA requests should provide helpful insight into the administration of the FOIA and the “foreseeable harm” standard at these three agencies and many others.

Government accountably is a core pillar of our constitutional democracy.  And because the FOIA process is an integral vehicle for maintaining transparency, it is essential that we understand how agencies are upholding their statutory obligations, or whether they are politicizing the FOIA process by keeping information secret and out of public hands. CoA Institute will continue to track and publicize the responses to its requests as they are received.

The following agencies are part of CoA Institute’s “foreseeable harm” standard investigation:

  1. Department of State
  2. Department of the Treasury
  3. Internal Revenue Service
  4. Department of Defense
  5. Department of Justice
  6. Department of the Interior
  7. Department of Agriculture
  8. Department of Commerce
  9. Department of Labor
  10. Department of Health & Human Services
  11. Department of Transportation
  12. Department of Energy
  13. Department of Education
  14. Department of Veterans Affairs
  15. Department of Homeland Security
  16. White House Office of Management and Budget
  17. General Services Administration
  18. Small Business Administration
  19. Office of Personnel Management
  20. Council of Inspectors General on Integrity & Efficiency
  21. Federal Trade Commission
  22. Amtrak
  23. Administrative Conference of the United States
  24. Environmental Protection Agency
  25. Presidio Trust

A copy of the FOIA request directed to the Department of Defense, which is substantially similar to all the other requests, can be seen below:

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Ryan P. Mulvey is Counsel at Cause of Action Institute.

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