FOIA requests on the White House at low level

Dear Friends:

It is generally agreed upon by White House watchers that under President George W. Bush, the flow of information from the Administration and leaks to the press are tighter than under any other recent president.

One way of extracting information out of the White House is, of course, through Freedom of Information Act requests, which are tracked by the Office of Administration.

Not all components of the White House fall under the provisions of FOIA, as explained on the White House web site:

"The President's immediate personal staff and units within the EOP whose sole function is to advise and assist the President are not subject to FOIA.
"The EOP entities subject to the FOIA are:
Council on Environmental Quality
Office of Administration
Office of Management and Budget
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Office of the United States Trade Representative


"The EOP entities exempt from the provisions of the FOIA are:


White House Office
Office of the Vice President
Council of Economic Advisers
National Security Council
Office of Policy Development
Domestic Policy Council
Office of National AIDS Policy
National Economic Council
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board"

Even with so many parts of the White House off-limits to FOIA requests, I'd think requests from the press and public for documents and data from the components that are subject to FOIA would be high, especially for the current Bush Administration.

But a look at the annual FOIA reports for the White House available on the web reveal FOIA requests are at an all-time low.

The highest number of recent FOIA requests were made during Bill Clinton's last year in office, 97.

Conversely, the lowest number of FOIA requests made on the White House were recorded in 2003, when only 38 such requests were filed.

Here are the numbers from the White House:


http://www.whitehouse.gov/oa/foia/foia99.pdf

Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 54

http://www.whitehouse.gov/oa/foia/foia1999.pdf

Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 63

http://www.whitehouse.gov/oa/foia/foia2000.pdf

Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 97

http://www.whitehouse.gov/oa/foia/foia2001.pdf

Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 91

http://www.whitehouse.gov/oa/foia/foia2002.html

Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 47

http://www.whitehouse.gov/oa/foia/foia2003.html

Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 38

Maybe it's naive of me to think reporters, especially those for liberal publications, the public and citizen watchdogs would be using FOIA to obtain information from the George W. Bush White House, but that clearly isn't the case.

Considering this Administration is so tightlipped, I'd expect dozens, maybe hundreds, of FOIA requests made to pry loose documents and information, particularly related to the Office of Management and Budget, given the sorry shape of the economy.

As the second term begins for Dubya, I hope that by calling some attention to the incredibly low number of FOIA requests last year, just 38, more members of the press and public use FOIA to make the White House more transparent and accountable in the next four years.

FBI denies expedited request

This letter arrived via snail mail yesterday morning. Although DOJ is denying my appeal for expedited processing for release of the FBI's file on Bush, it's good to know my regular FOIA request for the dossier is still in their normal processing queue.

Two minor points. My appeal letter was dated August 27, not undated as the DOJ co-director claims. Also, the director of public affairs for the FBI is Mark Corallo, not Carallo.

If you know of any attorneys or a public interest research group willing to assist me in gaining access to Bush's FBI file, such as filing a federal lawsuit, please put them in touch with me. It's too bad only one reporter, John Byrne of http://www.rawstory.com/, has written about the Bush FBI, but that will change, I hope, once the dossier is released.

My phone number is 415-621-6267.
^^^

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Information and Privacy
Washington, DC 20530
Ph: 202-514-3642

November 2, 2004

Re: Appeal No. 04-2795, Request No. 1001866

Mr. Michael Petrelis
2215-R Market Street, #413
San Francisco, CA 94114

Dear Mr. Petrelis:

This responds to your undated letter received in this Office on September 7, 2004, in which you appealed the refusal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to expedite the processing of your request for records concerning President George W. Bush. I regret the delay in responding.

I am affirming the FBI's denial of your request for expedited treatment under 28 C.F.R. 16.5 (d) (iv) (2004), which allows for expedited treatment of matters of "widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exists possible questions about the government's integrity which effect the public confidence."

The decision under that standard was made by Mark Carallo, Director of the Office of Public Affairs, in accordance with 28 C.F.R. 16.5 (d) (2). I have determined that Mr. Carallo properly denied your request for expedited processing.

The FBI has already initiated regular processing of your request. You may appeal again to this office when the FBI completes its action on this particular request if any of the responsive material is denied. We will then open a new appeal and review the component's substantive action on your request.

If you are dissatisfied with my action on your request for expedited treatment of your appeal, you may seek judicial review in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552 (a) (6) (E) (iii).

Sincerely,
Richard L. Huff
Co-Director