FOIA Update

WHISTLEBLOWERS ALLEGE DOJ LOOKING TO BAN PRIVATE SALES OF FIREARMS

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight has learned from sources that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has drafted a 1,300 page document attempting to justify a rule pursuing citizens for the private sale of firearms. Empower has also learned from its sources that the drafting of the document is reportedly being overseen by Senior

After 5 Years of Requests, 1 Lawsuit and More Than 500 Documents Released, DOJ Still Won’t Answer Al Jazeera-FARA Questions 

WASHINGTON – After nearly five years of congressional requests, official Freedom of Information Act filings and litigation, it still remains a mystery as to why the Justice Department has yet to require Al Jazeera to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), despite asking the Qatari government funded entity to do so more than 3

Empower Oversight Obtains Copies of Google Gag Orders, Presses Justice Department to Justify Hiding its Collection of Congressional Staff Communications Records from the Public

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight has obtained copies of five previously sealed court orders between 2017 and 2021 that prohibited Google from notifying Congressional staff that it had turned over their email and text records to the Justice Department. Copies of these newly public orders are attached to the latest in a series of Freedom of

Were Secret Justice Department Subpoenas Targeting Congressional Attorneys a Legitimate Inquiry or Improper Intelligence Gathering?

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight is seeking information regarding the U.S. Department of Justice’s subpoenas of the personal phone and email records of Members of Congress and a dozen or more attorneys for congressional committees, including Empower’s founder, Jason Foster, while they worked on Capitol Hill in 2017. The Justice Department’s targets were from both political

Empower Oversight Seeks Information from Justice Department on Subpoenas of Congressional Staff Phone and Email Records

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight has recently learned of the U.S. Department of Justice had subpoenaed the personal phone records and emails of Empower’s founder, Jason Foster, while he worked on Capitol Hill in 2017, along with several other staff, both Democrats and Republicans. The personal intrusion into congressional staff members raises serious questions about the

Empower Oversight Seeks Communications between Justice Department and Biden Legal Team, Media

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight has filed with the Justice Department two new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the investigation of Hunter Biden. The first request asks for all communications to or from Justice Department employees and Hunter Biden’s legal team. The second request asks for communications between the Justice Department and members of

Empower Oversight Presses for Additional Crypto Communications from Clayton SEC Tenure

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight has submitted a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking communications between Jay Clayton, the former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, and numerous people he may have interacted with regarding the agency’s improper handling of cryptocurrency enforcement decisions. The request stems from Clayton’s statements regarding Bitcoin and other senior officials’

Empower Oversight: Hunter Biden Attorneys’ Letter Lobbying the Biden Justice Department to Prosecute IRS Whistleblowers Should be Public

WASHINGTON – Empower Oversight (Empower) has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for communications initiated by attorneys for Hunter Biden to the Department of Justice asking the department to investigate IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley. Shapley made protected whistleblower disclosures to the U.S. House of Representatives about the handling and prosecution of Hunter