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We can’t hold our government accountable if we don’t know what government officials are doing.

That’s why transparency and access to information, especially through the Freedom of Information Act request process, is essential to a strong, thriving democracy. CREW has been a pioneer in using FOIA requests to get information, and has taken innovative legal action when necessary.

We recently sued the Commerce Department for their failure to release records related to Tom Barrack’s influence over the department and its role in a plan to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. Tom Barrack, in addition to his close ties to the Trump administration, also has significant business ties to Saudi Arabia and personal investments in Saudi Arabian nuclear technology.

We’ve also recently sued the Department of Justice and the FBI for their records related to Michael Cohen’s campaign finance crimes and efforts to cover up the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. And as we told you earlier this week, we also sued the Department of Health and Human Services for records of John Kelly’s communications about Caliburn International, a company that runs child detention centers. Kelly joined Caliburn’s board in May after he left the Trump administration.

CREW has also been filing new FOIA requests, including one yesterday with the Department of Justice seeking records about the procurement of drugs for lethal injection, in conjunction with the Trump Administration’s recent decision to re-start the federal death penalty. We’ve also recently requested documents related to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s apparent ownership of a money market fund that invests in the U.S. Treasury, which is a prohibited investment for the Treasury Secretary specifically.

CREW works every day to hold our government accountable and shed light on the use of government positions for private gain and other misconduct. Every year, we file dozens of FOIAs and, if necessary, take aggressive legal action to force transparency, because the American people deserve answers.

Thank you for being a part of the fight for accountability,

Anne Weismann
Chief FOIA Counsel, CREW