Lauren Harper

1 month ago | freedom.press | Lauren Harper |Seth Stern

When the Trump administration quickly fulfilled our Freedom of Information Act request for a memo belying its own rationales both for mass deporting Venezuelans and for cracking down on leaks to the press, we had plenty of theories about why. Maybe someone in the FOIA office used our request as an opportunity to blow the whistle. Maybe it was some kind of mistake. But one possibility that never occurred to us was that administration higher-ups somehow thought that the memo made them look good.

Mar 21, 2025 | restorationnewsmedia.com | Corey Friedman |Lauren Harper

Excessive government secrecy takes many forms, including denying or ignoring FOIA requests and deleting data from websites. These tactics prevent the public from meaningfully participating in self-government in every area secrecy touches, from domestic policy discussions on climate change to foreign policy debates around international aid.