The Government Really Wants to Be Held Accountable

The FOI is committed to open government. And it's a good thing too, because inquiring citizens want to know what their government is up to. Or do they? Unless it's on American Idol or Lost, I'm pretty sure they don't care. But if you are one of the few who do care, you can read all about your rights at the Freedom of Information Act's website, which is sponsored by the University of Missouri and the Missouri School of Journalism. Not quite sure why their finger gets to be in the freedom pie, but that may be beside point. What I really want to tell you about is the FBI's helpful compliance with the FOI act. Apparently anyone can obtain any declassified FBI file by following these simple steps:

from www.newstrench.com -

Write the FBI and request, by name and file number, the one or ones you are interested in under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC 552):

FBI Freedom of Information Act Office
Records Information Dissemination Section
Federal Bureau of Investigation
70 Marcel Drive
Winchester, VA 22602-4843
http://foia.fbi.gov/

List which files you want, mention if you are a member of the press, and tell the FBI that you agree to pay reasonable fees up to $25 without additional permission so that they can process your request. In some cases, members of the media can request and receive a waiver of fees otherwise charged under FOIA. To receive a fee waiver, members of the media must explain to the FBI how release of the information will further the public understanding of how government works, and how you intend to disseminate that information. Standard copying fees for FBI Freedom of Information material are 10¢/page, with the first 100 pages free.

You can ask for the file in electronic (pdf) form on a CD-ROM instead, for which the FBI typically charges $15 per disk.

Over the past several years, the FBI has been declassifying and transferring old files to The National Archives and Records Administration, including SOME (but not all) of the files noted on this website. If the FBI informs you that the files you seek have been transferred to The National Archives, please note that the National Archives charges reproduction costs at 50¢ per page, and the first 100 pages are not free.

National Archives and Records Administration
Civilian Records, Room 2600
8601 Adelphi Rd.
College Park, MD 20740-6000

Also, files of more recent vintage (1940s and later) require screening for personal information, names of informants, and Grand Jury information, which are exempt from disclosure at the National Archives.

Those files available from the National Archives may be viewed free of charge at Archives II in College Park, Maryland. It is best to check with the Archives by mail to ensure that the documents are available for public viewing.


So that's all you have to do! But silly me I thought freedom of information meant it was free? I can be so naive sometimes. To further complicate matters, I checked out the FOI website's FOI Letter Generator, in which you can choose from a long list of government agencies. However the FBI is not on the list. So does this mean the FBI is allowed to charge for FOI documents, or is it a simple case of the people running the newstrench.com site squeezing out dollars from unsuspecting inquiring minds? I can hardly keep up with the government these days, let alone individual scam artists. So please, if the newstrench.com crew happens to read this, would they please set the record straight?