Documented by Congress, Watchdog Groups, and Thousands of Requesters
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was created to ensure public access to government records. But decades of studies, investigations, and real‑world experiences show that FOIA is increasingly failing the public.
The U.S. Supreme Court has explicitly recognized the FOIA as a vital mechanism to “hold the governors accountable to the governed” by ensuring an informed citizenry. The law empowers individuals to demand government records, acting as a crucial check against corruption and secrecy.
Congress has documented these failures in the House Oversight Committee’s report: “The Freedom of Information Act Is Broken.” Source: https://oversight.house.gov/report/freedom-of-information-act-is-broken-a-report/
Independent watchdogs have reached the same conclusion. For example, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) published: “The FOIA Is Broken — But Is It Beyond Repair?” Source: https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/the-foia-is-broken-but-is-it-beyond-repair/
These reports are only the beginning. They describe systemic issues — but they do not capture the full extent of the problems faced by individual requesters.
This website exists to document those experiences.
⭐ What This Website Provides
1. A Decade‑Long Case Study of FOIA Failures
This site will publish a detailed, factual account of a ten‑year FOIA journey involving multiple federal agencies. It includes:
- Withheld records later discovered in agency systems
- Contradictions between sworn declarations and actual documents
- Procedural violations
- Retaliatory fee classifications
- Delays and inconsistent search representations
- Evidence of multi‑agency coordination failures
George Washington: ‘Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.’
All information is based on FOIA responses, agency correspondence, and court filings.
2. Additional Case Studies From Other FOIA Requesters
FOIA failures are not isolated. This site will highlight examples from:
- Court decisions
- Watchdog investigations
- Congressional reports
- Public‑interest organizations
- Journalists and researchers
These examples show that FOIA problems are widespread and systemic.
3. Strategies to Improve Your Chances in a Broken FOIA System
Based on real‑world experience, this site will provide:
- How to structure FOIA requests
- How to avoid common agency tactics
- How to document agency misconduct
- How to appeal effectively
- How to identify bad‑faith processing
- How to preserve your rights for litigation
- How to use FOIAonline and other systems
- How to avoid unnecessary fees
- How to build a public‑interest purpose
These strategies are designed to help requesters navigate a system that often works against them.
⭐ Why This Website Exists
FOIA is a critical tool for transparency — but it only works when agencies follow the law. When they don’t, the public loses access to information that belongs to them.
This website exists to:
- Document real‑world FOIA failures
- Preserve factual records
- Inform the public
- Help other requesters
- Support transparency
- Encourage accountability
This is a public‑interest, non‑commercial project.
⭐ Coming June 2026
- Detailed case study of a decade‑long FOIA battle
- Agency‑specific pages (EPA, FCC, NARA)
- Evidence Library
- FOIA strategies and guides
- Public‑interest analysis
- Documented timelines
- Litigation summaries
- Agency’s Playbook that has already been discovered