US Air Force to face FOI allegations

In US National Security Archive has filed suit against the Department of the Air Force for a pattern and practice of mishandling numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The law suit details several complaints against the government agency, including that it:

Fails to acknowledge FOIA requests for information;
Fails to process and respond to enquiries within the statutory 20 day limit;
Fails to process administrative appeals within the statutory 20 day limit,
Transfers requests to other agencies that lack the authority to make release determinations,
Effectively discourages the public from pursuing enquiries.

Lawyers have called for the production of documents against 82 of the most pressing requests and administrative appeals, filed by the Archive between July 1987 and March 2004. In total, at least 162 requests were originally submitted – none of which have been finalised, with some that are thought to have been lost completely.

It highlights that by ignoring or failing to provide relevant data, the Air Force is in direct violation of the FOIA, as well as Department of Defence regulations concerning requests.

While acknowledging that it is not alone in its slowness to respond to enquiries, the law suit does suggest that the Air Force’s sister agencies within the Department of Defence have superior information-handling systems and a better record at keeping up with requests.

Full details and a copy of the law suit can be viewed at: www.nsarchive.org.