Secrecy and Security News
Newer News: May 2018
April 2018
- CIA emails to journalists don't have to be released to public, judge rules by Tim Johnson, McClatchy News, April 30. "The CIA can selectively divulge classified information to selected reporters in emails yet withhold that information from other journalists or members of the public when they seek the same information under the Freedom of Information Act, a federal judge in New York has ruled."
- MSPB exonerates former NWS hydrologist Sherry Chen, orders Commerce Dept to reinstate her, MSPB ruling, April 23.
- Canadian Teenager Faces 10 Years in Prison for Downloading 7,000 FOIA Releases, Sputnik News, April 18. "The breach was discovered by accident early in April when a government official realised that a typing error in the number at the end of the website's URL gave them access to documents they did not have the permissions to view."
- Operating Under the Radar: Top Zinke Aides Undermine Protections for Public Lands and Endangered Species by John Dougherty, The Revelator, April 18. "Operating in the shadows of Trump administration's chaos and the financial scandals dogging Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a powerful trio of Interior Department political appointees is now in place to accelerate an already aggressive effort to quickly offer leases for millions of acres of public land, much of which is in sensitive environmental areas, to the oil and gas industry."
- Former FBI Special Agent Pleads Guilty to Leaking Classified National Defense Information, Justice Department news release, April 17. "Albury pleaded guilty to one count of making an unauthorized disclosure of national defense information and one count of unlawful retention of national defense information. Albury faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison per count." (plea agreement) (conditions of pre-sentence release)
- How the FBI uses the Freedom of Information Act to track down whistleblowers by Zack Kopplin, Washington Post, April 9. "Laws designed to make information public shouldn't be used to punish news sources."
Older News: March 2018