Thursday, October 15, 2015

Is the FBI Circumventing the FOIA?

The Better Government Association is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that works to expose corruption inside the government. The association recently filed a request for records from the FBI requesting records concerning the agency’s website section titled “Fun and Games.” The BGA was concerned about how much it is costing taxpayers as well as discerning the benefits.

The FBI claimed to have done a search of its “Central Records System,” but came up empty handed. The agency then asked for, “additional information pertaining to the subject that you believe was of investigative interest to the Bureau.”

CEO and President of the BGA, Andy Shaw, believes this isn’t unusual for the FBI. He stated that the FBI performs, “at best, a cursory search for records and then spitting out a nonsensical response . . . The agency should know better – and should be abiding by the law. It certainly demands that from the rest of us.”

The BGA is suing the FBI for allegedly violating the Freedom of Information Act. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 in the U.S. District Court of Chicago, the city in which the BGA is based.

The Lawsuit claims the, "FBI’s request for more information appears to demonstrate that no human being actually read or intelligently considered the subject matter of the request and that the search performed was part of an automated process divorced from the reality of the request.  Clearly the FBI website and its Fun & Games character ‘Bobby Bureau’ are not subjects of an FBI investigation, and clearly records responsive to the request would not be found."

Again, the BGA requested for the records asking that the FBI search all files. The agency has yet to respond. The FOIA requires the FBI to turn over its public records, but it appears the agency is circumventing requests by any means possible. 

Read the original story on the BGA website here where you can find photographed documentation of the BGA's lawsuit.

No comments:

Post a Comment