FOIA and MDR research

I use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) to declassify and obtain documents from various entities of the US government. 

FOIA can be a very long process -- usually taking at least six months to obtain the first responsive documents from the government.  In some rare cases, the FOIA process has continued for over a decade.  MDR is faster, although one has to better describe what one is looking for and there is no possibility of judicial review.

The FOIA or MDR request itself is the easy part - and is usually just the beginning of the process.  More difficult is the back and forth that takes place between the requester and the government.

I receive valuable records in less than ten percent of the FOIA and MDR requests I make.  The more relevant to a current situation the request, the more likely the records are to be withheld. Because of this, it is usually necessary to make several requests to several government entities to obtain the desired records.  This requires a lot of time and organization.

Even given the difficulties of the FOIA, I have received some very informative responses.

I work with individuals, such as academics and authors, and/or news media with an aim to widely and publicly disseminate the records so obtained.  This cannot be considered "work for hire". An informed public is essential to democracy.

Please call or e-mail me for more information.