Secrecy and FOIA
Jul 17, 2015 | News
Washington, D.C., July 17, 2015 - In an important victory for transparency and corporate accountability, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has ruled that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should release to the National Security Archive some 9,257 pages of records produced by Chiquita Brands International to the SEC as part of an investigation of the company’s illegal payments to a Colombian terrorist organization, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a group responsible for egregious acts of violence during Colombia’s civil war.
Jun 29, 2015 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C., June 29, 2015 – Long before Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities – based on gas centrifuge technology – became the center of international negotiations, the U.S. tried to deny that same technology to any country that sought it. In 1954, Washington prohibited a company in occupied Germany from selling gas centrifuges to Brazil, according to declassified documents published today for the first time by the National Security Archive and the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP).
The National Security Archive and Historical Associations Win Lawsuit for David Greenglass Testimony
May 19, 2015 | News
Washington, D.C., May 19, 2015 - The National Security Archive together with leading U.S. historical associations today won a petition for the release of key remaining grand jury records from the prosecution of accused spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were indicted in 1951, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union, and executed in 1953. In today's ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Alvin K.
Apr 24, 2015 | Briefing Book
Washington, D.C. April 24, 2015 - The nuclear inspection agency that is central to the current Iran negotiations is flunking international transparency norms, according to a report posted today by Freedominfo.org and the National Security Archive's Nuclear Vault. Key documents about International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proceedings, found in various national archives and private collections but closed at Agency headquarters in Vienna, are included in today's posting.
Mar 18, 2015 | News
Washington, DC, March 18, 2015 – The Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council has won the infamous Rosemary Award for worst open government performance of 2014, according to the citation published today by the National Security Archive at www.nsarchive.org. The National Security Archive had hoped that awarding the 2010 Rosemary Award to the Federal Chief Information Officers Council for never addressing the government's "lifetime failure" of saving its e-mail electronically would serve as a government-wide wakeup call that saving e-mails was a priority.
Mar 18, 2015 | Rosemary Award
The Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council has won the infamous Rosemary Award for worst open government performance of 2014, according to the citation published today by the National Security Archive.
Mar 13, 2015 | Briefing Book
In the News
Happy Sunshine Week: National Security Archive names E-Delinquents in 2015 E-FOIA Audit
By Ms. Smith, Network World, March 17, 2015
Sunshine Week Column: Posting FOIA releases online saves agencies time and money
By Lauren Harper, The Sentinel, March 15, 2015
Transparency Advocates Launch Sunshine Week with Mixed Reviews for Obama
By Charles S. Clark, Government Executive, March 16, 2015
Federal Agencies Get Poor Marks on Sunshine Week Scorecards
By CJ Ciaramella, The Washington Free Beacon, March 16, 2015
Mar 4, 2015 | Briefing Book
n the News
Somebody Else Is Suing the State Department—To Get Kissinger’s Phone Calls
By Asawin Suebsaeng, The Daily Beast, March 12, 2015
State Department hit with suit for Kissinger records
By Josh Gerstein, Politico, March 4, 2015
Indexed Trove of Kissinger Phone Transcripts Is Completed
By Scott Shane, The New York Times, December 23, 2008
Related Links
Declassified Documents Show Henry Kissinger's Major Role in the 1974 Initiative That Created the Nuclear Suppliers Group
April 24, 2014
Feb 23, 2015 | Briefing Book
Washington, DC, February 23, 2015 –Documents posted for the first time — in a collaboration between the National Security Archive and VICE News — provide insight into the U.S. government's paradoxical and opportunistic relationship with arms dealer Sarkis Soghanalian, whose larger-than-life deals were so well known that he was an inspiration for Nicholas Cage's character Yuri Orlov in the 2005 film, Lord of War.
Feb 5, 2015 | News
As part of the Federal Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee's mission to "to foster dialog between the Administration and the requester community, solicit public comments, and develop consensus recommendations for improving FOIA administration and proactive disclosures," the FOIA Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee has begun to compile a list of previously released reports on agencies' compliance with the law. Nate Jones of the National Security Archive is a member of the full committee.