Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Act

Type	Document
Also known as	FOIA
On the Timeline	26 events, 1956–2023

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552) is the U.S. law that requires federal executive agencies to release records to anyone who asks, unless the records fall under one of nine exemptions. It was pushed through Congress over twelve years by Rep. John E. Moss of California, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on 4 July 1966, and took effect a year later. Courts can order agencies to release improperly withheld records, and the burden is on the agency to justify withholding. UFO researchers have been among its most persistent users. FOIA requests and lawsuits have brought out documents on Air Force recovery teams, CIA and State Department UFO files and Navy messaging about UAP. They have also produced a long record of "no records" replies, heavy redactions and large fees.^[1][2][3]

Background and passage

FOIA grew out of Section 3 of the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act, which gave agencies broad discretion over what to publish and came to be seen as a tool for withholding rather than disclosing. Moss, chairman of the House Government Information Subcommittee, led the push. Concern grew in the late 1950s, when Defense Department and congressional reviews found that overuse of classification was leading insiders to leak "confidential" documents.^[1]

The bill, S. 1160 in the 89th Congress, became law on 4 July 1966 despite White House opposition, and Johnson signed it despite his misgivings. Because Title 5 of the U.S. Code was enacted into positive law in the meantime, the original act was replaced by a substantively identical one, signed on 5 June 1967. Both took effect on 4 July 1967.^[1]

How it works

The act applies only to executive-branch agencies. They must publish their procedures and make records "promptly available to any person" on a request that "reasonably describes such records." If an agency withholds records improperly, a federal district court can order them released, reviewing the matter afresh.^[1] The nine exemptions cover:^[1]

• Classified national security information properly classified under an executive order.
• Internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.
• Matters exempted by other statutes.
• Trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial information.
• Internal agency memoranda that would be privileged in litigation.
• Personnel, medical and similar files whose release would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.
• Law enforcement records whose release could cause specific harms, such as revealing a confidential source.
• Reports on financial institutions prepared for regulators.
• Geological and geophysical data on wells.

The law requires a response within 20 working days, but many agencies rarely meet it. Screening for classified material is slow at agencies like the FBI and CIA, and FOIA staff are usually underfunded, so requesters often sue. In the first big such case, Open America v. Watergate Special Prosecution Force (1976), the FBI had more than 5,000 requests pending. News organisations make fewer than 10% of requests, and businesses, law firms and individuals make most of them.^[1]

Amendments and executive actions

The law has been repeatedly widened and narrowed:^[1]

• 1974. After Watergate, Congress passed strengthening amendments. Gerald Ford vetoed them on 17 October 1974, advised by Antonin Scalia, then at the Office of Legal Counsel. Congress overrode the veto on 21 November, creating the core act with judicial review of secrecy claims. The Privacy Act of 1974 gave people the right to see and correct records about themselves.
• 1976. The Government in the Sunshine Act revised Exemption 3.
• 1982. Ronald Reagan's Executive Order 12356 let agencies withhold large amounts of material under the national security exemption until 1995.
• 1986. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act changed fees for different classes of requester and access to law enforcement and national security records.
• 1995–1999. Bill Clinton's directives allowed the release of many classified documents over 25 years old.
• 1996. The Electronic FOIA amendments required electronic reading rooms and extended the response time from ten days to twenty working days.
• 2001–2009. George W. Bush's Executive Order 13233 restricted access to former presidents' records. Barack Obama revoked it in 2009.
• 2002. Intelligence agencies were barred from releasing records to foreign governments or their representatives.
• 2007. The OPEN Government Act defined the news media, created the Office of Government Information Services to mediate disputes, and required tracking numbers. It also required agencies to cite the exemption behind each redaction.
• 2009. Obama's Executive Order 13526 allowed information to be classified after it had been requested.

Attorneys general have swung back and forth on how hard to defend withholding. Janet Reno's 1993 memo set a "presumption" of disclosure unless harm was foreseeable. John Ashcroft reversed it in October 2001, promising to defend any withholding with a "sound legal basis." Eric Holder rescinded the Ashcroft memo in March 2009.^[1]

Redactions and fees

A major complaint is heavy redaction. The Wikipedia account notes that the FBI redacted released records so heavily that needed research was impossible, and withheld two-thirds of its J. Edgar Hoover files from historian Athan Theoharis. In 2013 the Associated Press found agencies whose staff used secret email accounts that frustrated FOIA requests, and cases where agencies demanded more than $1 million in fees for records later shown to be available cheaply. A 2015 study found that ten of the 15 agencies receiving the most requests scored below 70 out of 100 on their handling of them.^[1]

FOIA and UFO research

The UAP timeline published with Michael Shellenberger's 2024 congressional testimony records many episodes in which FOIA and its predecessors shaped what the public could learn about UFOs:

Before FOIA and early requests

• John Moss and Special Report 14 (5 July 1956). A decade before FOIA, Moss's subcommittee complained that the Air Force's unclassified Blue Book Special Report No. 14 was not available to the public. The Air Force replied that wide distribution was too costly. See John Moss and Special Report 14 (1956).^[2]
• Moon Dust and Blue Fly (13 November 1961). A draft Air Force policy, later released, called for intelligence teams for Projects Moon Dust, Blue Fly and "UFO." It described quick-reaction recovery teams for foreign space vehicles and separately for crashed UAP. See Moon Dust, Blue Fly and UFO draft policy (1961).^[4]
• The MacDill discs (1966–1967). A retired pilot and journalist Jack Pickett said they saw disc-shaped "X-planes" with Air Force markings at MacDill AFB. See Jack Pickett and the MacDill discs.^[5]
• NASA (13 December 1977). In a released NASA document, the agency's chief of ground operations safety wrote that "what could be a piece of a UFO" had been examined at Los Alamos for over two months. See Carter request and NASA's UFO decision (1977).^[6]

Requests and lawsuits, 1978–1984

• The State Department (19 January 1978). The department told a requester it had no UAP records. The requester sent it one of its own leaked cables, and other State cables were later released by the DIA and CIA. See State Department "no records" reply (1978).^[3]
• The CIA (15 December 1978). Brad Sparks and Todd Zechel claimed the CIA had run secret emergency UFO studies during the 1952, 1957, 1965 and 1967 waves and was answering FOIA requests selectively. See CAUS lawsuit and the CIA UFO papers.^[7]
• SAC base overflights (20 December 1978). Rep. Samuel Stratton raised concern about unknown aircraft over Strategic Air Command bases. The Air Force told him "permanent" UAP files were not kept, though the timeline notes that files from Minot and Malmstrom were later released. See Samuel Stratton and the SAC base overflights.^[8]
• NORAD (September 1979). NORAD told a requester that searching for UAP tracking data would take over 18,000 hours and cost $294,157, and three years later refused to waive the fee. See NORAD's $294,157 search fee.^[9]
• Ground Saucer Watch (25 February 1982). The civilian group Ground Saucer Watch never received an answer from the State Department's science bureau, which the timeline says had monitored space debris and UAP. See Ground Saucer Watch and the State Department (1982).^[10]
• An Air Force colonel (1982). An Air Force colonel who founded a UFO group told Leonard Stringfield he had been harassed and burgled. See Air Force colonel harassed over a UFO group (1982).^[11]
• The Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit (16 May 1984). An Army counterintelligence FOIA reply said the Army had once had an informal "Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit." It first denied having its records, later said they had gone to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and in 1997 that office said they had been destroyed. See Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit.^[12]
• Indian Point (24 July 1984). Guards at the Indian Point nuclear plant reportedly saw a huge object as security systems failed, and records of the event were said to have been removed. See Indian Point nuclear plant sighting (1984).^[12]

The 1990s

• The Rockefeller Initiative (15 April 1993 and 1 November 1995). Papers from the White House science office showed discussion of a CIA request for a UAP briefing. A 1995 letter from Henry Diamond to science adviser John Gibbons said Laurance Rockefeller had been discussing a UFO evidence report with Hillary Clinton's staff. See Rockefeller Initiative and Henry Diamond letter to John Gibbons (1995).^[13][14]
• America West Flight 564 (25 May 1995). An airliner crew and an F-117 reported a huge cigar-shaped object. The timeline notes that a 2013 FOIA reply showed NORTHCOM held documents on "Fastwalkers." See America West Flight 564 sighting.^[15]
• The Phoenix Lights (22 January 1999). Citizens Against UFO Secrecy director Peter Gersten sued in federal court in Phoenix for records on the Phoenix Lights and an Illinois triangle sighting. The Defense Department said a reasonable search had found nothing. See CAUS Phoenix Lights lawsuit.^[16]

2007 onward

• O'Hare (2007). The FAA called a disc seen over O'Hare airport a "weather phenomenon," although its own facility log showed many calls about it. See O'Hare Airport UFO sighting.^[17]
• BAASS (2009–2010). Investigators for the DIA's AAWSAP program looked for old Project Grudge data and for Air Force records of 1975 nuclear-base overflights. They were told some records had been destroyed and that access needed special access programs. See Project Grudge data and the artifact file and BAASS investigations.^[18][19]
• The NRO (5 November 2015). The National Reconnaissance Office told a requester that UFOs were outside its responsibilities and that it had no records. Emails released in 2022 showed it had worked with the UAP Task Force. See NRO "no UFO records" reply (2015).^[20]
• USS Russell (30 July 2019). Logs from the destroyer's UAP incident were released with unusually heavy redactions. See USS Russell drone swarm logs.^[21]
• Navy messaging (July 2020). Emails released through FOIA in March 2021 showed Navy spokesman Joseph Gradisher asking FOIA offices across agencies to coordinate UAP replies with him and Susan Gough. The aim was that "new terms/language/etc. aren’t introduced that complicate the overall messaging efforts." A released briefing card told staff to say "UAP," not "UFO." See Gradisher–Gough FOIA coordination emails and Navy UAP briefing cards.^[22][23]
• AAWSAP papers (25 March 2022). The DIA released 37 of the 38 research papers produced by the AAWSAP program. See AAWSAP DIRD release.^[24]
• Starfish Prime (29 July 2022). A FOIA reply about the 1962 nuclear test and UFOs suggested files existed but needed expert review before release. See 1962 nuclear test UFO records reply.^[25]
• Sentient (27 February 2023). A reply to John Greenewald of The Black Vault showed that the NRO's AI system "Sentient" had detected a small "Tic Tac"-shaped object in May 2021. See NRO Sentient system.^[26]

Notes on the earlier version of this article

• The 1978 CIA release and 1980 NSA affidavits. The earlier version said lawsuits by Ground Saucer Watch and Citizens Against UFO Secrecy forced the CIA to release about 900 pages in 1978 and led to NSA affidavits in 1980. The specific page count and the NSA affidavits are not covered in the sources read here. The timeline records the 1978 claims about the CIA's selective replies.^[7]
• The Black Vault's total. The earlier version said The Black Vault has obtained millions of pages through FOIA. The figure is not covered in the sources read here, although several of the releases above came in response to Greenewald's requests.^[20][26]

On the UAP Timeline

• John Moss and Special Report 14 (1956) (5 July 1956) — Rep. John Moss asks why the unclassified Blue Book Special Report 14 isn't public.
• Moon Dust, Blue Fly and UFO draft policy (1961) (13 November 1961) — An Air Force draft policy names intelligence teams for Projects Moon Dust, Blue Fly and 'UFO'.
• Jack Pickett and the MacDill discs (1966-1967) — A retired pilot and a journalist say they saw Air Force-marked disc craft at MacDill AFB.
• Carter request and NASA's UFO decision (1977) (13 December 1977) — A NASA safety chief writes that a possible UFO fragment was studied at Los Alamos.
• State Department "no records" reply (1978) (19 January 1978) — The State Department says it has no UAP records; a requester sends it one of its own documents.
• CAUS lawsuit and the CIA UFO papers (15 December 1978) — Researchers claim the CIA ran secret emergency UAP studies during sighting waves.
• Samuel Stratton and the SAC base overflights (20 December 1978) — Rep. Samuel Stratton raises concerns over unknown aircraft flying over Strategic Air Command bases.
• NORAD's $294,157 search fee (September 1979) — NORAD says a search for UAP tracking data would cost $294,157.
• Air Force colonel harassed over a UFO group (1982) (1982) — An Air Force colonel says he was harassed after founding a UFO group.
• Ground Saucer Watch and the State Department (1982) (25 February 1982) — A civilian FOIA group gets no answer from the State Department about UAP records.
• Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit (16 May 1984) — An Army FOIA reply says an informal 'Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit' once studied UAP.
• Indian Point nuclear plant sighting (1984) (24 July 1984) — Guards at the Indian Point nuclear plant reportedly see a UAP as security systems fail.
• Rockefeller Initiative (15 April 1993) — White House science office papers show CIA interest in a UAP researcher's work.
• America West Flight 564 sighting (25 May 1995) — An airliner crew and an F-117 both see a huge cigar-shaped object over the Southwest.
• Henry Diamond letter to John Gibbons (1995) (1 November 1995) — A letter to the White House science adviser discusses Laurance Rockefeller's UAP efforts.
• CAUS Phoenix Lights lawsuit (22 January 1999) — A civilian group sues for records on the Phoenix Lights.
• O'Hare Airport UFO sighting (01 Jan 2007) — The FAA calls a disc seen over O'Hare airport a weather phenomenon despite many reports.
• Project Grudge data and the artifact file (23 January 2009) — A BAASS team member is said to be retrieving old Project Grudge data from Area 51.
• BAASS investigations (2010) — A BAASS investigator for the DIA program looks into UAP cases.
• NRO "no UFO records" reply (2015) (5 November 2015) — The NRO tells a FOIA requester it has no UFO records.
• USS Russell drone swarm logs (30 July 2019) — Logs from the USS Russell UAP incident are heavily redacted.
• Gradisher–Gough FOIA coordination emails (10 July 2020) — A Navy spokesman's email shows efforts to coordinate FOIA replies about UAP across agencies.
• Navy UAP briefing cards (24 July 2020) — A Navy briefing card tells staff to say 'UAP', not 'UFO'.
• AAWSAP DIRD release (25 March 2022) — The DIA releases 37 research papers from the AAWSAP program.
• 1962 nuclear test UFO records reply (29 July 2022) — A FOIA reply suggests files exist on UFOs and a 1962 nuclear test but need expert review.
• NRO Sentient system (27 February 2023) — An NRO FOIA reply describes its AI system 'Sentient' detecting a Tic Tac-shaped object in 2021.

References

Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia article “Freedom of Information Act (United States)”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.