Freedom of Information Act Requests


November 5, 2010

David Hardy, chief of the FBI’s FOIA program, says the Bureau has processed requests for 37 years and currently receives about 15,000 requests per year.


Audio Transcript

Ms. Ballew: Freedom of Information requests….

Mr. Hardy: “The government’s way of allowing individuals to see agency records, and this is an integral component of the open government of a democracy.”

 

Ms. Ballew: David Hardy, chief of the FBI’s FOIA program, says the Bureau has processed requests for 37 years and currently receives about 15,000 requests per year.

Mr. Hardy: “Each month, we review over 130,000 pages for release to the public.”

Mr. Ballew: FBI investigations are the most common requests, but don’t expect a lot on current cases.

Mr. Hardy: “If the case is still under investigation, or is being tried in court, or even sometimes even on appeal, we’ll be very limited in the type of information that we can release.”

 

Ms. Ballew: Hardy clears up a common question.

 

Mr. Hardy: “We don’t have a file on everyone, so don’t be disappointed if we come back with no records.”

Ms. Ballew: Privacy considerations apply too. Current and historical files can be found online at www.fbi.gov. I’m Denise Ballew of the Bureau, and that’s what’s happening at the “FBI, This Week.”

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