John,

The public has a right to know what our government is up to.

That’s the basic principle underlying the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which provides a mechanism for journalists, organizations, and ordinary citizens to request government records from any agency. At CREW, we send over 100 FOIA requests a year to agencies throughout the federal government to uncover corruption, shine a light on lobbyist influence, get a fuller picture of government spending, and learn why an agency has taken a specific action or adopted a specific policy.

The FOIA process can take a long time, but the fight is worth it. Here are some things we would not know without our FOIA requests:

Taxpayers spent at least $80,000 on just one of Eric Trump’s business trip: Just last month, we obtained Secret Service records that showed taxpayers spent at least $80,000 on Eric Trump’s two-day business trip to Uruguay in 2019. That means the taxpayers’ bill for Eric Trump’s work on the Trump Organization’s Punta Del Este project in Uruguay alone is at least $178,000.
President Trump lied about the G-7 Summit at Doral: When President Trump claimed that his attempt at hosting the 2020 G-7 Summit at his Doral resort was because the Secret Service wanted it there, we sent a FOIA request to find out if that was true. A few months later, we got records that proved President Trump had lied, that Doral was only added to the list at the last minute, and that the Secret Service in fact had concerns with that location for the summit.
VA staff frustrated by Mar-a-Lago member influence: Last August, CREW obtained documents shining light on a major scandal at the VA. More than 300 pages of emails show that career VA officials were forced to waste taxpayer resources by working on government contracting issues with three Mar-a-Lago members, none of whom had specific policy or government expertise. They were given access simply because they are the president’s paying customers.
The State Department blocked major news outlets from a briefing call: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a “faith-based media” briefing in March 2019, which excluded several news outlets. CREW’s FOIA uncovered that even more news outlets were blocked than previously known, and obtained the transcript of the call, which State had resisted releasing for months.
Donald Trump Jr’s hunting trip racked up a $17,000 bill: Just a few weeks ago, we learned that Donald Trump Jr’s Mongolian hunting trip, where he killed an endangered sheep, cost taxpayers at least $17,000. Most of that sum went to a Mongolian company whose owner arranged for Don Jr.’s “very political” hunting permit.

Because this administration has resisted transparency at levels never before seen, CREW is leading the fight to protect and strengthen FOIA policies and processes. Last fall, the Interior Department abandoned proposed FOIA regulation changes that would have made it more difficult for the public to obtain records, following comments opposing the changes from a coalition led by CREW.

This week is Sunshine Week, when we recognize the importance of transparency and access to government records. Here at CREW, Sunshine Week or not, we’re always working to shine a light on our government’s activities, and holding our leaders accountable.

Thank you,

Anne Weismann
Chief FOIA Counsel, CREW

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