The United States government keeps secrets. Lots of them. But since 1966, a federal law has given every person — citizen or not — the right to request access to government records. That law is the Freedom of Information Act, and it is one of the most powerful tools available to anyone who wants to know what their government is actually doing. What FOIA Is The Freedom of Information Act was signed into law on July 4, 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who reportedly signed it with reluctance. The law established that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records, and that agencies are legally obligated to disclose those records unless they fall under one of nine specific exemptions. FOIA applies to executive branch agencies — departments like Defense, Justice, and State, as well as independent agencies like the CIA and EPA. It does not apply to Congress, the courts, or state and local governments (those are covered by separate state-level public records laws). The fundamental principle is simple: government information belongs to the public. Secrecy is the exception, not the rule. What You Can Request Almost any document held by a federal agency is requestable: Internal memos and emails Reports and audits Budget documents and contracts Surveillance records and law enforcement files Scientific research and data Policy drafts and meeting minutes You do not need to explain why you want the records. You do not need to be a journalist, a lawyer, or a citizen. FOIA applies to "any person," which includes non-citizens and organizations. The Nine Exemptions Agencies can withhold records under nine exemptions. The most commonly invoked: Exemption 1: Classified national defense and foreign policy information Exemption 5: Inter-agency or intra-agency memos that would not be available in litigation (deliberative process privilege) Exemption 6 and 7(C): Personal privacy and law enforcement records that would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy Exemption 7(E): Law enforcement techniques and procedures that could circumvent the law These exemptions are routinely overused. Agencies often invoke Exemption 5 to withhold documents that reveal internal deliberations — which is precisely the kind of information FOIA was designed to expose. Famous FOIA Revelations FOIA requests have uncovered some of the most significant government secrets in American history: MKUltra (1977): The CIA's mind control program — involving secret LSD dosing of unwitting subjects, psychological torture experiments, and at least 150 human research projects — was confirmed through documents obtained via FOIA. The program ran for 20 years. The CIA had destroyed most records in 1973 on the director's orders. The documents that survived only did so because an employee misfiled them with financial records. The CIA "Family Jewels" (2007): A 693-page collection of internal CIA documents detailing assassination plots, domestic surveillance, warrantless searches, and human experimentation — compiled in 1973 at the direction of CIA Director James Schlesinger — was declassified and released in response to a FOIA request by the National Security Archive. Abu Ghraib (2004): FOIA requests by the ACLU and other organizations obtained thousands of pages of government documents detailing the systematic abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, including authorization memos from senior officials. How to File a FOIA Request You do not need a lawyer. You do not need special software. Here is the process: Identify the agency: Determine which federal agency holds the records you want. Each agency has its own FOIA office. Write your request: State specifically what records you want. The more specific you are, the better. Broad requests like "all documents about surveillance" will be rejected as overly burdensome. Submit it: Most agencies accept FOIA requests via their online portal, email, or mail. The DOJ maintains a list of agency FOIA contacts at foia.gov. Wait: Agencies are required to respond within 20 business days. In practice, responses often take months or years. Follow up: If your request is denied, you can appeal. If the appeal is denied, you can file a lawsuit. Response Times and Delays The 20-business-day response requirement is treated as aspirational. In practice: The average processing time for simple requests ranges from 20 to over 200 days depending on the agency Complex requests routinely take 1-3 years The FBI has a backlog of thousands of pending requests Some agencies have been sued repeatedly for systematic delays Delays are not accidental. They are an effective strategy: information that would have been newsworthy when requested is often irrelevant by the time it is released. MuckRock: A Tool for FOIA MuckRock is a nonprofit organization that provides tools for filing, tracking, and publicizing FOIA requests. Through MuckRock, anyone can: File requests to any federal agency through a streamlined interface Track the status of requests in real time Read and annotate documents received by other users Crowdsource the costs of appeals and litigation MuckRock has facilitated over 100,000 public records requests. Their archive of released documents is searchable and free. State-Level Public Records Laws Every state has its own public records law — sometimes called "sunshine laws" or "open records acts." These govern access to state and local government records, including police departments, school boards, and city councils. The strength of these laws varies dramatically. Florida and California have relatively strong public records statutes. Other states have broad exemptions or allow agencies to charge prohibitive fees. Tips for Effective Requests Be specific: Name the program, the time period, the type of document. "All emails from January 1-31, 2024 containing the word 'surveillance' from the Office of the Director" is better than "documents about surveillance." Request fee waivers: FOIA allows agencies to charge fees for search and duplication. You can request a fee waiver if the disclosure is in the public interest. Journalists and researchers frequently qualify. Use "expedited processing": If you can demonstrate "compelling need" — such as imminent threat to life or urgency in informing the public — you can request expedited processing. Keep records of everything: Save copies of your requests, the agency's acknowledgments, and all correspondence. If you need to appeal or sue, documentation matters. Start with what is already available: The CIA FOIA Reading Room, the National Security Archive, and MuckRock's document database contain millions of already-released pages. Search before you request. The Right They Hope You Will Not Use FOIA is only as powerful as the people who use it. Every request creates a paper trail. Every appeal forces an agency to justify its secrecy. Every released document adds to the public record. The system is slow, frustrating, and frequently hostile to requesters. It works anyway — imperfectly, incompletely, and incrementally — because the alternative is a government that answers to no one. They did not ask if we wanted to know. We had to dig it out ourselves. _- The Department_