The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Featured Posting

Censored by CIAin 2022 v. Published in 2021

The Public Document a Federal Judge and the CIA Don’t Want You to See

Washington D.C., October 4, 2022 – Federal judge James Boasberg today supported a CIA claim that a public document about a famous nuclear war scare should be censored “to protect…

Oct 4, 2022

Previous Postings

Haspel Personally Observed CIA Waterboarding, Witness Testifies

Jun 23, 2022

The Capitol Riot: A Chronology

Jun 13, 2022

The Capitol Riot: Trump’s Shadow Call Log

Jun 9, 2022

Former President Trump Wins Rosemary Award for Worst in Open Government in 2021

Mar 16, 2022

U.S. National Archives’ (NARA) Budget: The 30-Year Flatline

Mar 11, 2022

President Trump May Have Violated Laws Protecting Government Property When He Destroyed, Removed Records, NGOs Assert

Feb 9, 2022

Six Things You Didn’t Know About Watergate

May 27, 2021

The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read (Part 3)

May 4, 2021

“Still Interested” Letters Add Insult to Injury of Long-Ignored FOIA Requests

Mar 12, 2021

Thank you

Generous funding provided by the CS Fund/Warsh-Mott Legacy and the Open Society Foundations

Featured FOIA Roundtable

In the more than 50 years that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has been on the books, it has helped revolutionize Americans’ understanding of how their government works in practice. But the agencies and departments of the executive branch that are covered by the FOIA have persistently attempted to thwart its effective implementation.

featured interview

Nate Jones stops by NPR's All Things Considered to discuss the thousands of Donald Rumsfeld "snowflakes" that were released in response to the Archive's FOIA lawsuit.

In the Media

Classified: Keeping close the nation's secrets

CBS Sunday Morning

Oct 2, 2022

FOIA and Government Transparency: A Report Card

CATO Institute

Sep 22, 2022

Clinton exaggerates absence of classified information in her emails

PolitiFact

Sep 13, 2022

Yes, the government keeps way too many secrets

CNN

Sep 3, 2022

White House launches new war on secrecy

Politico

Aug 23, 2022

Featured Videos

FOIA 50th Anniversary - American History TV visits the National Security Archive to talk FOIA history with our director, Tom Blanton. Watch the informative and entertaining 11-minute clip here:

Man vs. FOIA - McClatchyDC talks with National Security Archive FOIA Project Director Nate Jones about the FOIA requesting process.

Why We File - During celebration of the Sunshine Week 2018 Nate Jones talks to the Export Import Bank about the Freedom of Information Act from a requester's perspective.