Empower Oversight has appealed the Department of Justice’s ruling denying Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seeking additional information about the agency’s retaliation against various FBI employees.
Empower Oversight submitted a FOIA request on Sept. 9, 2024. The Justice Department denied the request on Nov. 26, 2024, asserting that the request did not provide enough detail for the staff to execute a search “with a reasonable amount of effort.”
In its appeal, Empower Oversight wrote:
“Here, first, the FBI’s reasoning fails on its face because, as the case law makes plain, just because a request “seeks a voluminous amount of records” does not mean anything. In fact, as explained above, “the statute anticipates requests for voluminous records.” Tereshchuk, 67 F. Supp. 3d at 455.
“Second, Empower Oversight’s request identifies precisely what records are sought: all
records of communications by or with the named individuals containing the listed terms. There
is no other way to be more specific. If the FBI has any ideas, it has not shared them with
Empower Oversight.”
To see the original request click here.
To see the appeal click here.