The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Featured Posting

Inter-American Court Orders Opening of Military Archives

Washington, D.C., January 24, 2023 - On Friday, January 20, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights set a…

Jan 24, 2023

Previous Postings

Censored by CIAin 2022 v. Published in 2021

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

Oct 4, 2022

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

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

The National Intelligence Director: Over-Classification Undermines Democracy

Government Executive

Jan 30, 2023

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

The Bulwark

Jan 25, 2023

The Real Problem With Classified Documents

Slate

Jan 19, 2023

Biden and Trump documents expose wider problem: Missing classified records not uncommon

USA Today

Jan 19, 2023

Presidents don’t track private house guests. Some want that to change.

The Washington Post

Jan 18, 2023

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.