Read the full story: Washington Free Beacon
A government watchdog group announced Monday that it is suing a dozen federal agencies for improperly delaying Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for White House review.
Cause of Action is suing 10 cabinet agencies, as well as the Internal Revenue Service and White House Office of Management and Budget, for failing to release documents regarding how the White House reviews agency FOIA requests.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2014
Cause of Action Sues A Dozen Federal Agencies for Allowing the White House to Obstruct Transparency
WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a government accountability organization, sued 10 cabinet agencies, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Internal Revenue Service today for refusing to disclose communications concerning documents the agencies shared with the White House. The records would reveal whether and how the White House politicizes records requests sent to federal agencies.
“Accountable and transparent government does not involve instructing agencies to send politically sensitive records to the White House for review. The bureaucracy has violated the law by stonewalling the public’s access to documents for political reasons. Cause of Action’s own investigation reveals that the White House is actually demanding access from agencies to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and Congressional document requests, as well as the documents subject to those requests, in a manner that may obstruct congressional oversight and violate the spirit of FOIA,” stated Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s executive director.
After sending 22 FOIA requests between 2013 and 2014 to various agencies regarding the review of agency records by the Office of White House Counsel and releasing a report in April of this year about “White House equities,” a broad term the White House uses to review and advise agencies on what should or shouldn’t be released to FOIA requesters and Congress, 10 of the agencies have responded to Cause of Action.
Cause of Action’s White House equities investigation previously uncovered internal emails from the Environmental Protection Agency showing that the White House improperly withheld documents related to a request from Congress, leading to a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee. Cause of Action also obtained documents revealing that a public records appeal filed by Americans for Limited Government with the Department of Labor (DOL) concerning former Secretary Hilda Solis’ calendars was held up for years before DOL released the information, showing that agencies are hiding responsive documents, or delaying the production of responsive documents, because of what they are sharing with the White House.
In addition to the Internal Revenue Service and Office of Management and Budget, the remaining cabinet level agencies that have gone an average of eight months without producing documents are:
The lawsuit, along with our exhibits, can be found here and here.
You can find more information on White House equities here.
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Read the full story: Washington Post
Cause of Action said the agencies have not handed over documents the organization asked for up to 14 months ago and that the requests appear to be under White House review, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Washington Post. The group plans to file its lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Cause of Action pointed to an April 2009 White House memo as the source of the delays, noting that Gregory Craig, former counsel to President Obama, instructed federal agencies to consult with his office on “all document requests that may involve documents with White House equities.”
Read the full story: Washington Examiner
Cause of Action Executive Director Daniel Epstein said the Pluta emails appear to be an effort to improperly withhold official documents.
“Federal agencies cannot avoid their transparency obligations simply because they want to. Cause of Action has previously exposed how CFPB advises its employees to FOIA-proof their work calendars, but these new documents evidence an overt attempt by a senior CFPB employee to change standard protocol in order to improperly shield records from the public,” Epstein said.
Read the documents:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
July 21, 2014 Annalisa Burnett, 202-499-4232
Department of Labor Prioritized Illegal Fundraising Over Following The Law
WASHINGTON – Government watchdogs Cause of Action and Americans for Limited Government (ALG) exposed the Administration for valuing illegal fundraising for the President over its statutory duty to keep the public informed of its activities.
Cause of Action obtained documents revealing that a public records appeal filed by ALG with the Department of Labor (DOL) concerning former Secretary Solis’ calendars was held up for years before DOL released the information.
Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens:
“President Obama upon entering office promised us an open and transparent administration, stating that records should not be withheld ‘because of speculative or abstract fears.’ Instead of fulfilling this promise, the White House is micro-managing how agencies release records, apparently acting on exactly these types of fears. As a result, release of records is delayed and the delays in many instances destroy the public utility of the information in the records. These delays are, of course, contrary to FOIA and should cease immediately.”
Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein:
“Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis chose to illegally fundraise for President Obama using taxpayer-funded resources while neglecting to ensure that the agency she oversaw was transparent. DOL sat on records for years until the White House cleared the information for release. Sadly, such delays have become par for the course under this Administration, which screens agency documents containing White House “equities,” — a broad and undefined term used to delay the release of politically sensitive information to the public, and even to Congress. Hiding behind White House equities is a threat to free speech and this Administration must be held accountable for it.”
Documents show that ALG’s FOIA appeal was delayed by over two years:
Sept. 1, 2010: In response to a Jan. 14, 2010 FOIA request from ALG, DOL withheld a calendar entry showing that Solis met with Cecilia Munoz from White House on April 7, 2009.
Oct. 26, 2010: ALG files FOIA appeal, challenging redactions.
Approx. March 2012: Solis makes a fundraising call to a DOL employee during business hours in order to aid the President’s reelection campaign.
Apr. 8, 2013 to May 6, 2013: DOL finally consults with White House Counsel’s Office about releasing the calendar entry; White House agrees to release.
May 20, 2013: DOL issues final response to ALG which includes the production of the calendar with the calendar entry.
About Cause of Action:
Cause of Action is a non-profit, nonpartisan government accountability organization that fights to protect economic opportunity when federal regulations, spending and cronyism threaten it. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.
About Americans for Limited Government:
Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG, visit www.GetLiberty.org.
To schedule an interview with Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, contact media@causeofaction.org or (202) 499-4232. To schedule an interview with Americans for Limited Government’s President Nathan Mehrens, contact media@limitgov.org or (703) 383-0880 x 106.
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Read the full story: Washington Times
Cause of Action, a government ethics group in Washington that uncovered the Craig memo from a federal whistleblower, said the White House should not intervene in FOIA decisions.
“The very people who are shielded from FOIA are now in charge of reviewing FOIA requests being sent to federal agencies,” said Daniel Epstein, the group’s executive director. “There’s a huge risk that the White House is influencing FOIA decisions of other federal agencies, assessing documents it otherwise may not have seen and is interjecting itself into the FOIA process, which is bad for transparency.”
In October 2012, Cause of Action submitted a FOIA request to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seeking records related to any requests from the President for individual or business tax returns. In response to our request, the IRS released 790 pages of records but redacted a substantial amount of information pursuant to Exemption 5 of the FOIA. Exemption 5 protects “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.” Nate Jones of the National Security Archive recently called it the “withhold it because you want to” exemption. It is often triggered to protect the “deliberative process” among government employees, but DOJ guidance from 2009 notes that, “records covered by the deliberative process privilege in particular have significant release potential.”
Cause of Action decided to challenge the IRS’s application of Exemption 5. We filed and an appeal that the IRS denied, and then filed a lawsuit on June 19, 2013. In its response to our lawsuit, the IRS “reconsidered some of the redactions made to the 790 pages.” The resulting changes show how broadly IRS applied Exemption 5 to redact parts of certain emails. Here’s a sample of what the IRS redacted pursuant to the exemption (see the documents here):
Original Release
Unredacted
Original Release
Unredacted
Original Release
Unredacted
Original Release
Unredacted
Original Release
Unredacted
Original Release
Unredacted
President Obama’s 2009 memo on FOIA declared, “In the face of doubt, openness prevails.” Attorney General Holder wrote, “[A]n agency should not withhold information simply because it may do so legally.” Despite these pledges, agencies are still choosing to hide information from the public. As these emails show, the IRS is abusing Exemption 5 to “withhold it because they want to.” Promises of transparency have not created more openness in government. Significant reform is needed to limit the abuse of FOIA exemptions so that citizens, journalists, and watchdog groups can continue to fight for accountability in the government.