DOJ Spends Around $40 Million Every Year To Help Agencies Hide Records

A review of FOIA lawsuits in the past fiscal year, where the Justice Department fought the disclosure of information in the public interest

Graphic based on image from the Department of Justice and in the public domain

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) spends around $40 million every year on litigation intended to prevent the disclosure of records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 

“In determining whether to defend an agency's nondisclosure decision,” according to the guidelines issued by Attorney Merrick Garland in 2022, the DOJ supposedly “will not defend nondisclosure decisions that are inconsistent with FOIA” or the “presumption of openness” that should be applied. 

As part of Sunshine Week (March 10-16), The Dissenter reviewed FOIA litigation from the past fiscal year. The newsletter focused on glaring instances where the government clearly fought to prevent the disclosure of information in the public interest.

Courts may grant attorney fees in lawsuits where requesters substantially prevail and if there is a “public benefit derived from the case.” An agency may also be forced to pay fees if that agency violated its obligations under FOIA (for example, failing to adequately search for records). 

The DOJ paid $1.27 million in attorney fees in fiscal year 2023, down from nearly $2 million in the previous fiscal year. (A fiscal year for the U.S. government begins on October 1 and ends on September 30.)

Read the full article at The Dissenter