Secrecy and FOIA

Document Friday: El Salvador’s Debate on Amnesty and Historical Memory

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by Emily Willard
-Notes from the Evidence Project-

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the massacre of six Jesuit Priests in El Salvador, along with their house keeper and her 16 year-old daughter on November 16, 1989. For Document Friday, the National Security Archive is posting newly released documents regarding the case, filed by the Center for Justice and Accountability in August 2009, against 20 former El Salvadoran officials in the National Court in Spain for their involvement in the massacre.

Missing El Salvador Documents 2.0: NARA’s Response and Remaining Unanswered Questions

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by Emily Willard
I would like to thank Mr. Kurtz of the National Archives and Records Administration for providing a candid and illuminating response to my previous post of November 17, 2010, regarding the missing documents of the El Salvador Human Rights Cases held at the NARA and the Library of Congress. I especially appreciate a clarification between the two different collections, the “Special Collection of Records Relating to El Salvador Human Rights Cases, 1979-1993” and the “UN Truth Commission Files, 1980-1993”.

The Capitol Riot: Trump’s Shadow Call Log

Washington, D.C., June 9, 2022 – As the House Select Committee tonight launches its televised hearings into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the National Security Archive marks the event by posting former President Donald Trump’s “Shadow Call Log,” a new visual aid that helps fill in the blanks from the famous seven-and-a-half hour gap in Trump’s official call records, a gap that may be critical in the panel’s attempt to prove criminal intent.

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

Washington, D.C., March 16, 2022 - Former President Donald J. Trump has the dubious honor of winning the National Security Archive’s infamous Rosemary Award for worst performance in open government in 2021; a remarkable achievement considering Trump was out of office for much of the year. During his time in office, Trump was widely reported to have both destroyed records and prevented their creation in the first place.

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

Washington, D.C., February 9, 2022 – The National Security Archive and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) have formally requested that the Justice Department and FBI investigate former President Donald Trump’s mutilation and destruction of presidential records as possible violations of federal criminal law.

The Capitol Riot: A Chronology

Washington, D.C., January 6, 2022 - The National Security Archive marks the one-year anniversary of the assault on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, with a meticulously researched timeline of the day's events. The chronology, which will serve as an important tool for investigators, researchers, and the public, is divided into three main parts: