The #ACLU Is Suing the Government to Get Access to #DOGE Records

The ACLU claims the Department of #VeteransAffairs and the #SocialSecurity Administration have violated the Freedom of Information Act.
#foia #ssa

https://www.wired.com/story/aclu-lawsuit-government-doge-access-sensitive-data/

The usual Friday evening document dump - #RFK #assassination files released by #Trump administration. Records from the State Department and #FBI have been unsealed; #Gabbard says 50,000 more pages are still to come. #govdocs #foia #assassination #research #government #politics #FBI https://www.archives.gov/research/rfk scroll down - each document is is in #pdf

Twenty-six landlords, companies, or investment firms paid local property tax (LPT) for ownership of more than 500 houses or apartments last year.

Revenue data show a small number of property owners paying upwards of €300,000 each for vast portfolios of real estate.

https://www.thestory.ie/2025/04/18/twenty-six-landlords-paid-local-property-tax-for-at-least-500-homes-they-owned-in-2024/

"In a court fight over whether DOGE has to comply with public demands for its records under FOIA, DOJ says it's going to immediately appeal..."

ICYMI: A fed judge in DC denied the Trump admin's effort to get a lawsuit tossed out challenging DOGE's access to systems & data at Labor, HHS & CFPB -- "& prepares itself for the twists & turns this case will surely continue to bring."
-Z Tillman

#DOGE #Musk #FOIA #DOJ #Courts #DOL #HHS #CFPB #USPol

https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rEXmylXm5wew/v0

https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rUgVn2p_Z31Y/v0

Why did the #TrumpAdministration fire all of the #FOIA staff at the #CDC? What are they hiding? https://theconversation.com/the-sudden-dismissal-of-public-records-staff-at-health-agencies-threatens-government-accountability-254024
#health #science #RFKJr

Judge Cooper has ordered expedited discovery against DOGE in @crew.bsky.social's #FOIA case: www.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/u...

Just got #FOIA docs through from the #FBI in response to a request for records related to a hack of the US Air Force military website in 1997. Will upload to Internet Archive when I’m at my desktop box.

TODAY at 9:30am ET: @alexabdo will appear before the D.C. Circuit in a lawsuit alleging the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel is violating #FOIA by failing to disclose certain categories of legal opinions that are binding on the executive branch. Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzft7WXhDbY

Hey #FOIA fans want to do your part to make it easier to get DOGE records? Easy peasy. Send a short (polite!) email to National.FOIAPortal@usdoj.gov and say, please make it possible to submit electronic FOIA requests to the U.S. DOGE Service through FOIA.gov. That's all. I'll take it from there.

FOIA.gov - Freedom of Informat...

I wrote up a quick #blog about making a #FOIA request to the #FBI through their web portal, the basics of how to make a request, how to write the request itself and tips on making sure that your request gets processed. While this blog is specific to the FBI the tips could be used for other agencies.
https://realhackhistory.org/2025/04/07/how-to-foia-with-an-example-from-hacking-history/

"The Trump administration has begun its purge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by dismissing 10,000 employees, with agency Freedom of Information Act offices being among the casualties.

This comes after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a FOIA requester himself, promised “radical transparency” at the agency.

The entire FOIA office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was placed on administrative leave, and emails sent to CDC’s FOIA office received the response, “Hello, the FOIA office has been placed on admin leave and is unable to respond to any emails.” Most FOIA staff at the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health were also let go.

Bloomberg reporter Jason Leopold noted that CDC’s FOIA website was briefly taken entirely offline, but was restored after public outcry.

It’s important to note that even if CDC or other agency FOIA office websites are taken offline, requesters can visit FOIA.gov to find contact information for agencies and continue to submit requests. Agencies are still obligated to respond to requests even if their entire FOIA office has been sacked."

https://freedom.press/the-classifieds/rfk-jr-promises-radical-transparency-then-closes-foia-shops/

A confidential Revenue paper said a massive loophole in pensions law meant some people could wipe out all of their tax liability by transferring huge sums into a retirement saving fund for spouses and other family members.

The paper said the link between salary and pension had been completely “broken” and the system left open for large scale abuse by the wealthy.

Our latest set of records available at:

https://www.thestory.ie/2025/04/04/pension-loophole-meant-wealthy-company-owners-could-employ-family-members-part-time-on-token-salaries-and-funnel-up-to-e2-million-into-tax-deductible-pension-funds/

"Last night, a DC fed judge handling a DOGE FOIA case ordered DOGE to preserve records responsive to the requests at issue while the case goes forward (DOJ has been contesting that FOIA covers DOGE) and said the government has to confirm compliance by Monday."
-Z Tillman

Will Musk's #DOGE comply?

Democracy Dies in Darkness:

"Hearing the entire FOIA office at CDC has been eliminated."
-D Boguslaw

"And apparent mechanism to request (as required by law) …"
-A Morey

"The entire CDC FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA & NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid."
-J Leopold

#FOIA #Fascism #TrumpMusk #HHS #CDC #USPol

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-01/us-health-agency-mass-firings-begin-as-kennedy-orders-10-000-cut?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0MzUzMDg1OCwiZXhwIjoxNzQ0MTM1NjU4LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTVTAwOVBUMEFGQjUwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIyQjE3NzFFOTlEODc0QzRDOTY1Njg1RTZBQkJGM0QwRCJ9.3wzhDHewZ9AAlOO6yvdQ8Xl-F-AhPjCgiQeL3BYqbDg

Recently heard about DeFlock:

https://www.404media.co/the-open-source-project-deflock-is-mapping-license-plate-surveillance-cameras-all-over-the-world/

The #AustinDSA #DSA tried to stop these things from cropping up in #Austin #atx, and failed (though they did keep retention times down IIRC).

Whelp. #FortWorth, where I live now, has plenty of open data sources and portals to dig through in search of ALPR stuff too. Which *did* lead me to a contract the city has maintained, since 2020, with Flock for 200+ #ALPR cameras, some new cameras (which Flock apparently gets to own/operate forever despite charging 2500 USD+ per camera) and some licenses for IP cameras to turn them into ALPRs (for these, presumably, they are for cameras the City of Fort Worth already owns/operates).

However, no maps of the cameras' locations are available in these online data portals. More interestingly, the required permits for Right of Way Encroachment don't appear available online either (there are some independent Flock deployments listed for various HOAs, but nothing from the 2020-2021 time-period when theses cameras first went up by the city that I could find). However however, the contract specifically states that such a map must be provided to the city by Flock, and integrated into its GIS, if requested. I'mma go out on a limb and assume that such a request has been made at least once in the last five or so years. So, I made a Public Information Request ( #PIR / #FOIA ) for the info. Hopefully they already have it as shapefiles.

Then, I can get the data added to #OpenStreetMap #osm. Looks like cities near Fort Worth -- Burleson (S), Mansfield (SE), North Richland Hills (NE), Colleyville (NE) -- have some ALPRs mapped. But nothing in Fort Worth proper (or west of Fort Worth).

#dfw #Texas

Every day I remain unemployed is a day I will do everything in my power to be a pain in the ruling capitalist class's ass.

next September 8th, it will be TEN YEARS that I have been fighting to unearth the truth about the persecution of Julian #Assange and the #WikiLeaks journalists, with a #FOIA battle and litigation in #USA, #UK, #Sweden, #Australia.

Everyone needs to FOIA the shit out of these motherfuckers. At some point, the courts WILL notice the non-responsiveness.