Dear Supporter,
Judicial Watch uses the Freedom of Information Act and other open records
laws to promote transparency and uphold the rule of law. Now, the FBI has
halted its online Freedom of Information Act operations.
Our Corruption Chronicles blog details the
latest on this accountability crisis:
FBI Shuts Online Public Records
Operation Over Coronavirus, Encourages Standard Mail
As mandatory social distancing forces Americans and federal government
employees to telework, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is using
coronavirus as an excuse to shut down its electronic public records
operations. Instead, the agency that dropped the ball on 9/11 and more
than 20 terrorist attacks in the U.S. since then, is encouraging
the public to send requests via standard mail. Even for a famously
inefficient government with a talent for keeping the public in the dark,
this is a bit much. Furthermore, it is a scary display of attitude and
conduct by the same bloated entity that is supposed to save us all from the
new pandemic.
The bizarre move comes amid a nationwide mandate to avoid the outside world
and a maximum
telework order for federal government employees. Shutting its
online Freedom of Information/Privacy Act (FOIPA) operation and accepting
only standard mail makes no sense unless the law enforcement agency is
simply trying to stop the flow of public records requests. That would be
unethical, to say the least. FOIPA is a valuable tool used by Judicial
Watch to expose government corruption and it is essential that there be no
disruption in the system. Who will receive the mail with the new requests?
When will the FOIPA requests get processed if employees are under a
mandatory telework order? Judicial Watch reached out to the FBI, but never
received a response. Apparently, everyone is home teleworking which means
the requests could easily be accessed if the FBI didn’t shut down its
electronic system.
Here is the absurd message that
greets those wishing to obtain records from the FBI during the viral
crisis: “Due to the emerging COVID-19 situation, the FBI is not accepting
electronic Freedom of Information/Privacy Act requests or sending out
electronic responses through the eFOIPA portal at this time. You may still
submit a FOIPA request via standard mail. We apologize for this
inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.” The print is in red,
indicating a sense of urgency, and appears above the original eFOIPA
submission portal, which was designed to facilitate the process by allowing
requesters to submit and receive responses electronically. “The eFOIPA
portal’s normal operating hours are 24 hours a day seven days a
week,” according to the FBI website, which offers simple directions on
how to proceed with public records requests. “The FBI would like to thank
you in advance for your cooperation and looks forward to receiving and
responding to your request,” the agency writes. “If you have any
additional questions or experience any issues while using the eFOIPA
system, please e-mail [email protected] for
assistance. To report a matter concerning national security or another
federal crime, submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.”
Sincerely,
Amelia Koehn
Public Affairs Coordinator
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