The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Posts Tagged ‘Transparency Watch’
FOIA request to CDC took five years to fulfill
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers itself to be one of the nation’s foremost scientific institutions, dedicated to transparency and evidence-driven policies. It is fair, therefore, to ask this question: What happens when the CDC brazenly ignores the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), taking more than five years to fulfill a journalist’s information…
Read MoreJustice Department seizure of AP phone records has dangerous implications
The Justice Department’s seizure of telephone records from editors and reporters of The Associated Press was an attack against a free press with dangerous implications for the ability of journalists to gather information, the president of Investigative Reporters and Editors said Tuesday. “This is what police states do, not governments of the people,” IRE Board President…
Read MoreDepartment of Justice secretly obtained AP phone records
The Associated Press reports that the Department of Justice secretly obtained two months worth phone records from its reporters and editors. AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said in a letter to the department that the records obtained were beyond the scope of any specific investigation, and called the actions a “massive and unprecedented intrusion”…
Read MoreNY opens millions of records on state data portal
New York State this week announced the addition of millions of records to the state’s data transparency website, open.ny.gov, which launched during Sunshine Week of 2011. New York’s is one of 39 state open data sites, according to data.gov. At least 39 county and city governments have similar portals. The records span multiple state agencies…
Read MoreIRE seeks nominations for inaugural government secrecy award
Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc. is launching a new award — dubbed the Golden Padlock — recognizing the most secretive publicly-funded agency or person in the United States. It is calling on journalists and the public for worthy nominees. “This honor acknowledges the dedication of government officials working tirelessly to keep vital information hidden from…
Read MoreA look at whistleblowers charged under the Espionage Act
After the Obama administration promised it would “strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government,” it has since carried out an unprecedented campaign against federal government whistleblowers. Since 2009, six government officials have been prosecuted under the Espionage Act, a World War I era act that had…
Read MoreAnalysis: Supreme Court ruling a regressive one for access laws
In a disappointing unanimous decision yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can ignore public record requests from non-residents. This is one of the most regressive, backward rulings the U.S. Supreme Court has issued on access laws for some time. Two reasons make this particularly alarming: The court continues to look at public records…
Read MoreSupreme Court says Virginia can limit FOIA to state residents
The U.S. Supreme Court decided unanimously today that the state of Virginia had the power to restrict public records access to residents of that state. Virginia limits freedom of information requests to its own residents and certain media outlets. The case reached the court after Rhode Island resident Mark J. McBurney and California resident Roger…
Read MoreState Department reverses position, makes comments on Keystone XL available to public
Reversing a position announced in March, the U.S. Department of State has stated it will make public the more than 800,000 comments submitted to date regarding the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. In March, John H. Cushman reported for InsideClimate News that the State Department would not make public the public comments it received during the drafting…
Read MoreTransparency Watch: The Argus Leader’s legal battle with USDA over food stamp data
By Jonathan Ellis, Argus Leader Here’s a novel idea: If you take money from the federal government, the public should know how much you’re taking and for what. That basic premise is at the heart of the Argus Leader’s lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture. The paper filed suit in 2011 seeking to force…
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