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In doing so he emphasized that "ach agency must be fully accountable for its administration of the FOIA." In addition to establishing these principles applicable to the presumption of disclosure, the Attorney General also comprehensively addressed in his Guidelines a range of principles applicable to establishing an effective system for improving transparency.
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When a FOIA request is denied, agencies will now be defended "only if (1) the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by one of the statutory exemptions, or (2) disclosure is prohibited by law."Įstablishing an Effective System to Respond to Requests Significantly, the Attorney General rescinded the OctoAttorney General Memorandum on the FOIA and established a new standard for defending agency decisions to withhold information. While recognizing that the "disclosure obligation under the FOIA is not absolute," and that the FOIA contains exemptions to protect, for example, national security, personal privacy, privileged records, and law enforcement interests, the Guidelines stress that the President has directed agencies not to withhold information merely to prevent embarrassment, or because "errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears."
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This presumption means that information should not be withheld "simply because may do so legally." Moreover, the Attorney General has directed that whenever full disclosure of a record is not possible, agencies "must consider whether can make partial disclosure." The Attorney General also "strongly encourage agencies to make discretionary disclosures of information." The FOIA Guidelines stress that the FOIA is to be administered with the presumption of openness called for by the President. The Attorney General highlighted that the FOIA "reflects our nation's fundamental commitment to open government" and that his Guidelines are "meant to underscore that commitment and to ensure that it is realized in practice." The President directed the Attorney General to issue FOIA Guidelines for the heads of executive departments and agencies "reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency." On March 19, 2009, during Sunshine Week, Attorney General Eric Holder issued those Guidelines. The President directed that FOIA "should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails." Moreover, the President instructed agencies that information should not be withheld merely because "public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears."Īgencies were directed to respond to requests "promptly and in a spirit of cooperation." The President also called on agencies to "adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure" and to apply that presumption "to all decisions involving FOIA." This presumption of disclosure includes taking "affirmative steps to make information public," and utilizing "modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government." On his first full day in office, January 21, 2009, President Obama issued a memorandum to the heads of all departments and agencies on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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Attorney General Holder's FOIA Guidelines