New Rule Would Allow Government to Say Existing Records Don't Exist

Written by Doug Marquardt   

Under a new rule crafted by the Department of Justice, the Freedom of Information Act would be amended to allow federal offices to tell people requesting certain law-enforcement or national security records that they don’t exist—even when they do.

Currently, the government can withhold information by stating that it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of the records in question.

Government watchdog organizations are opposing the change.

In a public comment regarding the rule change, the ACLU, along with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and OpenTheGovernment.org, said the move “will dramatically undermine government integrity by allowing a law designed to provide public access to government information to be twisted to permit federal law enforcement agencies to actively lie to the American people.