Versus Trump: The FOIA Spectacular!
On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Charlie discuss all things FOIA—that is, the Freedom of Information Act.
The episode begins with some background on the way FOIA works, including some necessary information about who can file requests for information and what government records must be turned over to inquiring citizens. Charlie and Easha then [at 7:00] give some background on two recent FOIA cases asking for information from the Trump Administration: the first requesting visitor logs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower, and the second seeking correspondence between the Administration and the Ways and Means Committee of the House. They then [at 14:00] dig deeper into the merits of the visitor log case and later [at 24:50] get into a broader discussion of the Ways and Means case and FOIA's role generally.
Finally, Jason pops in [at 36:00] to conclude the episode with two quick Trump nuggets.
As usual, you can listen online below, and subscribe here with any podcast player or here in iTunes.
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Links
- The federal government's official FOIA website is here.
- Background and documents in the visitor log case can be found here. One of the plaintiffs, CREW, has filed many recent FOIA requests, and they can be found here.
- American Oversight's case page in the Ways and Means case is here. A useful Politico article about the House's request to intervene is here.
- Jason mentioned a new lawsuit by the National Venture Capital Association. More info is here.
Tags:
Rule of Law Checks & Balances Congress Executive Branch Healthcare Democracy Free Speech & Press Versus Trump Podcast