Epstein files? They're just the beginning.
The Trump administration is withholding untold numbers of other government records while ignoring the Freedom of Information Act.
Do you like freedom?
And information?
Well, hey, there’s an act for you: The Freedom of Information Act, which for nearly 60 years has granted journalists, advocates, scholars and regular old Americans the right to access records from any government agency.
FOIA is an essential tool for an informed public because it helps us understand how our federal government works — or doesn’t work.
It allows us to unearth data and documents that shed light on all manner of matters of public interest: war, health, money, transportation, education, the environment.
It helps us bathe the deepest corners of the state, if you will, with sunlight.
And under President Donald Trump, FOIA has fallen into grave disrepair.
I would know. I’ve filed hundreds of FOIA requests during my journalism career and dozens since Trump won election in November.
Writing this week in MSNBC, I explain what’s happening, amid so much talk about a certain, secret batch of documents — the Epstein files:
Taken together, the responses from federal agencies so far this year are unlike any I’ve ever received.
Amid indiscriminate staffing cutbacks due to Elon Musk’s DOGE effort, some agencies have acknowledged that they are understaffed and won’t be able to help anytime soon. Others have said they currently have no dedicated, full-time officials to handle public records requests.
And some have waited months to even respond to my inquiries, despite federal law mandating they initially respond within 20 days. That’s if they respond at all — some have not so far.
I walk you through two specific FOIA requests I’ve made, one with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the other with the U.S. Geological Survey.
And I explain that while Trump’s administration has take FOIA to new depths of non-compliance, our ability to access federal records has been getting worse for much of the past 15 years, come President Barack Obama, Trump 1.0 and President Joe Biden.
Read my full analysis here, and please leave any thoughts about FOIA — or open government in general — in the comments. I’ll be sure to reply.