Documents are exactly as the agency provided them; only the requester's personal contact information has been blacked out. Redactions marked (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(6), or (b)(7) are the agency's, citing FOIA exemptions.
Filed — awaiting response. Requests sent August 27, 2026, posted as filed so the questions are on the record before the answers arrive:
- FBI — Asked: about the online tip line the FBI set up for the September 10, 2025 Utah Valley University shooting: (1) how long the submitted tips and media are kept, and any destruction records; (2) the counts behind the publicly quoted figures (about 7,000 leads, over 11,000 leads, 16,000 submissions) for September 10–14, 2025; (3) any transfer of, or access to, the collected submissions outside the case file, including to DOJ systems listed in its 2025 AI inventory (tip intake, facial recognition, text-reading/translation); and (4) any use of the submissions to train or test AI systems. Not the tips themselves or anyone's personal information. So far: the FBI's system confirmed receipt the same day; no FOIPA case number yet (the eFOIPA receipt).
- Election Assistance Commission (#26-0083) — Asked: any agreement, work order, or written communication between the EAC and the National Design Studio (or the Executive Office of the President) about vote.gov or its preview/redesign, dated August 1 – December 31, 2025, and any record of who started the vote.gov preview project and when. This re-files EAC 26-0064, whose "no records" answer covered only 2026 — the vote.gov preview's first public security certificate is dated September 8, 2025 (as filed). So far: acknowledged September 4, 2026. The EAC says it has a backlog. No records yet (the acknowledgment). The EAC expects the whole search to take under two hours. Fee waiver / faster processing: fast processing denied for lack of a stated “compelling need”; fee waiver denied, with the requester classed as “other,” but the EAC expects the search to fit in the two free hours and expects no fees.
- Department of State — Asked: the records that authorized the National Design Studio's role in passports.gov and other State passport websites — agreements, task orders, detail agreements, or letters between State and the Studio, the Executive Office of the President, or the White House Office, from August 2025 on — including who runs or controls passports.gov content and under what authority non-State staff got access (as filed). So far: not accepted. The same day, State's email inbox replied with a form message telling us to file through its online portal (PAL) instead (the reply). This is the second time that inbox has turned away an emailed passports.gov request (the first was August 10). Re-filing through the portal is still to be done.
- NCIS — Asked: the basic, publicly releasable job history of former NCIS inspector-general division chief Foster Curtis: positions, titles, grades, duty stations, dates of service, and the date and type of his separation (about June 2, 2025). So far: not accepted yet. Three email rounds: sent August 7 (told August 10 to use the SecureRelease portal), re-sent August 24 (same answer August 25, with a privacy-form package attached), re-sent August 27 (as sent) — answered that morning that NCIS's FOIA system is being switched over and cannot take new requests until the following week (the reply). No tracking number yet; the clock starts once it is filed after the switch-over.
Other requests filed the same day went through agency websites (FBI eFOIPA, DOJ FOIA STAR, GSA FOIA.gov); those acknowledgments will be added as they arrive.
Federal Aviation Administration, Civil Aviation Registry · FOIA 2026-05343 · filed Aug 12, 2026 · released in full Sep 23, 2026 · 456 pages in three files
What we asked for: The complete FAA aircraft registry file for the jet registered as N1098L, including its registration, airworthiness, and recorded ownership papers. This was one part of a four-part request. The other three parts asked for Provo, Utah air-traffic-control records for September 10, 2025, and the FAA handled those separately (see below).
What we got: The whole file, with nothing withheld by the FAA. The aircraft is a Bombardier BD-700-1A10 (Global 6500), serial 60098. The papers show Bombardier Inc. selling the new jet to Bombardier Aerospace Corporation on March 7, 2023, and Bombardier Aerospace Corporation selling it to SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc. on March 20, 2023. The same day, LASAI Aviation II, LLC of Manassas, Virginia signed the application to register it as the lessee under a June 30, 2022 Master Aircraft Lease with SMBC that runs to June 30, 2027. The lease allows it to be subleased to Leidos, Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries. A U.S. standard airworthiness certificate was issued March 13, 2023.
Changes made to the plane: The airworthiness file holds FAA Form 337 major-alteration records. Six are dated September 20, 2023: ballast boxes (two forms), cabin insulation, satellite communications, an observer seat, and a "Mission Interior" with a crew rest area. One more is dated February 24, 2025. It says the aircraft "is operating under an Airworthiness Release issued by the Dept of the Army dated 23 Dec, 2024 and Declaration of Department of Defense Contracted Aircraft State Use letter dated 23 Aug, 2024," and that the work must be removed before the aircraft can return to civil use. The registration file also has lease papers for a second jet, N2100L (serial 60100). The rent and money schedules were left out of the FAA filing by the lease parties themselves as confidential; the FAA withheld nothing. The Provo air-traffic parts of the request went to a different FAA office. That office asked on August 12 for more information, and no records from it have been found in the mail archive. In the same letter it said Provo's control tower is a Federal Contract Tower run by a private operator, not part of the FAA, so records kept only by the tower operator are not covered by FOIA and that part of the request is expected to come back "no records."
Fee waiver / faster processing: The FAA charged no fee for the registry file, and the air-traffic office's August 12 request for more information asked about fees and faster processing.
FAA letter
Registration file
Airworthiness file
letter: 2 pages · registration file: 432 pages, 13 MB · airworthiness file: 22 pages
Department of War, Office of the Secretary / Joint Staff FOIA office · FOIA 26-F-2918 · filed Aug 7, 2026 · final response Sep 21, 2026 · no records found
What we asked for: Any public-affairs guidance, social-media activity log, or messaging directive about Erika Kirk that was issued by or inside the Department of Defense from September 1, 2025 onward. The request left out ordinary email.
What we got: No records. The Pentagon's public-affairs office (the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs) searched its electronic records and files and found nothing that matched. The letter says the search "could reasonably be expected to produce the requested records if they existed," and invites any event or file details that could support a further search.
Next steps: An appeal can be filed within 90 days of the letter. The PDF includes the request as filed.
Fee waiver / faster processing: No fees were charged; earlier, the office's interim response had denied faster processing.
View the letter
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PDF, 4 pages
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General · OIG FOIA 2026120 · filed Aug 27, 2026 · final response Sep 16, 2026 · 34 pages withheld, 2 pages released with the text blacked out
What we asked for: Any memorandum of understanding, participation agreement, or delegation that lets the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General (its internal watchdog) take part in a Department of Homeland Security task force, an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, or any interagency intelligence-sharing task force, in effect at any time since January 1, 2025.
What we got: The office found 36 pages. It withheld 34 pages completely and released 2 pages with the body of each blacked out. The reason given for all of it is Exemption (b)(7)(E), which protects law-enforcement techniques and guidelines when release could help someone get around the law. What survives on the two released pages is the titles: a "Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Regional Memorandum of Understanding," marked For Official Use Only / Law Enforcement Sensitive, and a "Memorandum of Understanding between the Homeland Security Task Force National Coordination Center and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General regarding contributions to the National Coordination Center."
Next steps: An appeal can be filed with the Solicitor of Labor within 90 days of the September 16 letter. The PDF includes the letter, the two released pages, and the request as filed.
View the response
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PDF, 6 pages
U.S. Office of Government Ethics · OGE FOIA FY 26/102 · filed Aug 27, 2026 · denied Aug 31, 2026
What we asked for: The public financial disclosure report (OGE Form 278e) that Stephen Feinberg filed for his appointment as Deputy Secretary of Defense, plus any ethics agreement, divestiture plan, or recusal statement filed with that appointment, dated from January 1, 2025 on.
What we got: A denial, with no records released. OGE received the request on August 28 and denied it on August 31. It cited Exemption 3 (a law that sets its own rules for these papers): the Ethics in Government Act, 5 U.S.C. § 13107. OGE said financial disclosure reports, ethics agreements, Certificates of Divestiture, and 18 U.S.C. § 208 conflict-of-interest waivers each have their own special way to be requested, so OGE "is not processing these records under the FOIA."
Where the letter says to get them instead: Reports for top officials (Executive Schedule Levels 1–2) and ethics agreements are posted on OGE's website. Certificates of Divestiture can be requested with OGE's online request tool. Conflict-of-interest waivers under § 208(b)(1) are requested from the official's own agency using OGE Form 201. An appeal of the denial can be filed within 90 days.
View the letter
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PDF, 2 pages
U.S. Department of Justice, National Security Division · NSD FOIA/PA #26-363 · filed Aug 27, 2026 · acknowledged Aug 28, 2026 · no records yet
What we asked for: The Justice Department's Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit file on registrant Global Cast Partners LLC and/or Greg Brown (registration activity starting around May 2011, about consulting tied to Sheikh Ali Al-Sabah of Kuwait), other than what is already public on the FARA eFile website. Specifically: letters from the unit pointing out problems or asking questions, other letters between the unit and the registrant, any advisory opinions, and any review or decision memos about the registrant's duties, from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014.
What we got: So far, only an acknowledgment letter. It gives the case number and says any search will be limited to the National Security Division's own records. It does not say whether records exist. The request was assigned to a Government Information Specialist and placed in line on a first-in, first-out basis.
Fee waiver / faster processing: In the August 28 acknowledgment, faster (expedited) processing was denied and the decision on waiving fees was put off until the office knows whether there will be any fees.
View the letter
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PDF, 1 page
Office of Government Ethics · filed Aug 27, 2026 · answered the same day · no documents sent
What we asked for: Commerce Secretary Howard W. Lutnick's public financial-disclosure reports (OGE Form 278e, including periodic transaction reports), his signed ethics agreement, and any public cautionary or compliance letters about those filings.
What we got: a same-day reply, in under three hours, saying the reports and ethics agreement are posted on OGE's public individual-disclosures search page, with the link. OGE sent no documents itself and did not address the cautionary or compliance letters.
View OGE's reply, with the link
The request as filed
reply: PDF, 7 pages · request: 8 pages
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation · FOIA 26-045 · filed Jul 16, 2026 · closed Aug 28, 2026 · no search, no records
What we asked for: Any investment commitment, term sheet, memorandum of understanding, or investment-committee decision record of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) about the "AI-native industrial park" or regulatory zone near Subic Bay, Philippines, dated from January 1, 2025 on.
What we got: The request was closed without a search, so no records came back and DFC never said whether any exist. DFC said the request did not describe the records clearly enough. Its July 29 acknowledgment letter said it could not tell whether "near Subic Bay" meant the body of water, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, or the town of Subic, and could not tell which projects the request meant. It asked for clarification by August 3. The August 28 letter says no reply was received, so DFC closed the request.
Next steps: DFC says a new request can be filed. An appeal can be sent to DFC's Deputy General Counsel within 90 days of the August 28 letter.
Fee waiver / faster processing: The July 29 letter put off deciding the fee waiver until the request was clarified.
View the letter
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PDF, 2 pages
U.S. Secret Service · 2026-USSSFOIA-01703 · received Aug 4, 2026 · forwarded to DHS headquarters Aug 26, 2026 · no records yet
What we asked for: Records showing whether the September 21, 2025 memorial service for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona was named a National Special Security Event (NSSE), the top federal security rating for an event, or given a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) level. That includes the designation decision, request, or notice, and any record naming the federal agency put in charge of security. The request did not ask for security tactics.
What we got: No records. In a "misdirected request" letter, the Secret Service said the information "is under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security - HQ" and that it forwarded the request there for processing and a direct reply. It did not say whether records exist. No reply from DHS headquarters has been found in the mail archive.
Appeal: The August 26 letter says an appeal can be filed within 90 days of that letter.
Fee waiver / faster processing: In an August 11 acknowledgment, the Secret Service denied faster (expedited) processing, calling the request "conclusory," and held the fee-waiver request until it knew how many records there were.
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PDF, 2 pages
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division · FOIA 2026-NavyFOIA-010641 · filed Jul 21, 2026 · letter dated Aug 13, 2026, sent Aug 21, 2026 · partly granted: 1 document, 4 pages, redacted
What we asked for: The Navy's written justification for buying without full and open competition (a "Justification and Approval," or any sole-source or limited-source justification) for the contract NSWC Crane awarded around April 2025 to Accurate Energetic Systems, LLC (McEwen, Tennessee) for a "demolition charge, AP, extra small mini." We also asked for the purchase request or requirements document stating the operational need behind the purchase.
What we got: One document, 4 pages, with redactions: an internal memo explaining why the contract was not openly bid. It covers two items: "Demolition Charges, XS, miniaturized (mini XS)" and "Demolition Charges Anti-Personnel, XS." They were bought below the simplified acquisition threshold (the dollar limit for simpler, faster purchases) through limited competition among holders of Basic Ordering Agreements (standing supply agreements), citing FAR 6.302-6 (national security). The memo says the need came from a program, name redacted, "tasked with providing solutions for real time requirements." The box checked is "Unusual and Compelling Urgency," but the form's urgency section is blank. The required delivery date is redacted. It was certified March 24–25, 2025. The Navy redacted quantities, the dollar value, vendors other than Accurate Energetic Systems, and program identifiers. No separate purchase request or requirements document was released; the letter lists this memo as the only document found.
Why things were blacked out, and next steps: The Navy cited Exemptions (b)(3) (a law, 10 U.S.C. § 130, that protects certain military technical data), (b)(4) (business secrets), (b)(6) (personal privacy), and (b)(7)(F) (could endanger someone's safety). It said naming the losing bidders and internal estimates would harm competition, and linking this explosive purchase to specific program names could endanger military personnel. An appeal can be filed within 90 days of the letter. The records from the same contract's deliveries are in the receiving reports entry.
Fee waiver / faster processing: The Navy's August 13 letter waived all fees.
View the justification memo
Download
Navy response letter
memo: PDF, 4 pages · letter: 2 pages
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division · FOIA 2026-NavyFOIA-010635 · filed Jul 21, 2026 · letter dated Aug 13, 2026, sent Aug 21, 2026 · partly granted: 4 documents, 15 pages, redacted
What we asked for: The receiving report (DD Form 250, the form the military uses to record that it inspected and accepted a delivery) or any similar acceptance record, plus any contract change, termination notice, or close-out document dated after October 10, 2025, for the contract NSWC Crane awarded around April 2025 to Accurate Energetic Systems, LLC for a "demolition charge, AP, extra small mini." This is the same contract as the justification memo above.
What we got: Four documents, 15 pages, with redactions: three electronic receiving reports and one contract modification. The contract took effect April 22, 2025. The first shipment left the contractor's Tennessee plant on August 28, 2025, with estimated delivery to NSWC Crane on August 29, 2025, and was formally accepted on October 14, 2025. A second shipment, described as "Demolition Charge, AP, XS, Mini," shipped April 15, 2026 and was accepted April 28, 2026. A freight charge followed. The shipments are marked "Endorsed as Hazardous Material." The modification (ARZ999, May 2026) is a paperwork change of the payment office. Its "Associated Contracts" table lists the contractor's other federal contract numbers, including a second FY2025 NSWC Crane contract, N0016425PJ593. The Navy redacted quantities, prices, and drawing numbers.
Why things were blacked out, and next steps: The Navy cited the same four exemptions as in the justification memo: (b)(3) (10 U.S.C. § 130), (b)(4) (business secrets), (b)(6) (personal privacy), and (b)(7)(F) (could endanger someone's safety). It said the commercial details would harm the contractor's competitive position, and that exact locations and internal payment routing for sensitive ordnance buying could endanger military personnel. An appeal can be filed within 90 days of the letter.
Fee waiver / faster processing: The Navy's August 13 letter waived all fees.
View receiving reports
Download
Contract modification
Navy response letter
reports: PDF, 12 pages · modification: 3 pages · letter: 2 pages
U.S. EPA, Region 5 — Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division · FOIA 2026-EPA-06621 · filed Jul 21, 2026 · response Aug 20, 2026 · no documents attached
What we asked for: The notice of violation or enforcement notice the EPA issued around September 2025 to Naval Support Activity Crane and/or Crane Army Ammunition Activity (Crane, Indiana) about how it handled, stored, or managed hazardous waste and explosives. We also asked for the underlying RCRA inspection report (the federal hazardous-waste law) and any written reply from the Navy or Army, dated from June 1, 2025 on.
What we got: A closing letter with no documents attached. The letter says EPA "has previously released records responsive to your request" in its online system, and gives steps for finding them in the agency's public Reading Room by searching a tracking number. The cover email filed the case under "Other Reasons - No Records." The letter was signed by Carolyn Persoon, Division Director. The records themselves have not been posted here.
Appeal: The August 20 letter says an appeal can be filed within 90 days.
Fee waiver / faster processing: EPA denied the fee waiver on July 29, saying the request did not address the required factors but that a news-media requester would probably not be charged anyway, and the August 20 letter says an invoice will follow if there are charges.
View the letter
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PDF, 2 pages
Department of War, Office of the Secretary / Joint Staff FOIA office · FOIA 26-F-2918 · filed Aug 7, 2026 · interim response Aug 11, 2026
What we asked for: Any public-affairs guidance, social-media activity log, or messaging directive about Erika Kirk that was issued by or inside the Department of Defense from September 1, 2025 onward. The request left out ordinary email.
What we got: A delay notice, with no records and no decision on whether records exist. The letter confirms receipt, gives the case number, and names an action officer. It says the office cannot meet the 20-working-day legal deadline because of "unusual circumstances." The office does not hold the records itself and has to collect them from other offices. The request was placed in its complex queue, behind about 3,706 open requests. The final response on September 21, 2026 found no records.
Fee waiver / faster processing: This August 11 letter denied faster (expedited) processing, saying the request did not show how the information would lose its value if not handled quickly, and put off the fee-waiver decision until the search is done.
View the letter
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PDF, 2 pages
Federal Bureau of Investigation · FOIPA 1747564-000 · filed Jul 16, 2026 · routed and closed Aug 5, 2026 · no records from the FBI
What we asked for: The complete, unedited surveillance-camera footage from the federal facility where Jeffrey Epstein died, covering the 24-hour period of his death, as mentioned in the July 7, 2025 joint DOJ/FBI memorandum. We asked for the original continuous recording, not an excerpt or compilation.
What we got: No records from the FBI. The FBI's August 5 letter says it "routed your request to the Office of Information Policy" (the Justice Department's FOIA office) and was "administratively closing" its own file. The Justice Department answered under case FOIA-2026-04310 in a letter dated August 4, one day before the FBI letter. It pointed to the online Epstein Library instead of releasing the footage. See the DOJ response.
Appeal: An appeal of the FBI's handling can be filed with the Office of Information Policy within 90 days of the August 5 letter.
Fee waiver / faster processing: On July 23, 2026 the FBI acknowledged the request, denied faster (expedited) processing for "not enough information," and said the fee waiver was still under consideration.
View the letter
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PDF, 1 page
U.S. Department of Justice — Office of Information Policy · FOIA-2026-04310 / FBI #1747564-0 · filed with the FBI Jul 16, 2026 · answered Aug 4, 2026 · no video released
What we asked for: The complete, unedited surveillance-camera video from the federal jail where Jeffrey Epstein died, covering the full 24 hours around his death — the recording the July 7, 2025 joint DOJ/FBI memo refers to. We asked for the original continuous recording, not a clipped or edited version. The request went to the FBI, which sent it on to this DOJ office (see the FBI routing letter).
What we got: No video, and no answer about the video itself. The letter treats the request as one for "the Jeffrey Epstein and/or Ghislaine Maxwell files" and says everything DOJ will release under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (the November 19, 2025 law) is already posted in its online Epstein Library. It lists what was held back there and why: Exemption 3 (child sexual abuse material, which federal law bars releasing), Exemption 5 (internal material covered by civil-lawsuit privileges), Exemptions 6 and 7(C) (personal privacy), and Exemption 7(A) (material that could interfere with an active investigation or prosecution, which DOJ calls "narrowly tailored and temporary"). It adds that part of the records is sealed by a federal court in New York, so this office says it cannot consider releasing that part at all.
Appeal: The letter gives 90 days to appeal.
Fee waiver / faster processing: On July 23, 2026 the FBI acknowledged the request and turned down our request for faster ("expedited") processing, saying we had not given enough information.
View DOJ's letter
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PDF, 3 pages
U.S. Department of Justice — Office of Information Policy · FOIA-2026-04079 · filed Jul 18, 2026 · answered Jul 30, 2026 · refused, nothing searched or released
What we asked for: The written approval that DOJ's own news-media rules require before agents search a journalist's home — specifically the approval memo or sign-off by the Attorney General or another designated senior official for the January 2026 search of a Washington Post reporter's home, and any record showing the rules' requirements were met. We said we wanted that one approval record, not general emails.
What we got: Nothing. DOJ said the request does not describe the records well enough for staff "to locate the requested records with a reasonable amount of effort," so it is not a valid FOIA request (5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A)). No search was done. The letter invites us to contact the office to reword the request.
Also in the letter: it says the office was closed October 1 – November 12, 2025 during the government shutdown, which delayed its answer. It gives 90 days to appeal.
View DOJ's letter
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PDF, 2 pages
U.S. Department of Justice — Office of Information Policy · FOIA-2026-04170 · filed Jul 24, 2026 · answered Jul 30, 2026 · refused, nothing searched or released
What we asked for: Any written messages (notes, memos, letters) DOJ sent to Congress or a congressional committee that invoke the "deliberative process privilege" — the rule that lets an agency hold back its internal back-and-forth before a decision — as a reason for withholding records about Jeffrey Epstein or the Epstein Files Transparency Act, plus any legal memo or opinion supporting that claim. We said we were not asking for general emails.
What we got: Nothing. DOJ said the request is not described well enough to search, because it "does not identify an Office to search, Congresspersons or Congressional committees that you seek communications with, nor a date range of records." No search was done. The letter invites us to contact the office to reword the request.
Also in the letter: the same note about the office being closed October 1 – November 12, 2025, and 90 days to appeal.
View DOJ's letter
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PDF, 2 pages
U.S. Secret Service · 2026-USSSFOIA-01640 · acknowledged Jul 25, 2026 · answered Jul 28, 2026 · nothing released
What we asked for: Any entry, exit, visitor, or access records for Andrew Kolvet at the White House complex and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door, on the day DOJ publicly released the Epstein files and the day before. We said we were not asking for general emails.
What we got: No records. The Secret Service said that records of schedules, visitors, or similar information about the Office of the President "are not Secret Service agency records subject to the FOIA." It said they fall under the Presidential Records Act instead and "remain under the exclusive legal custody and control of the White House" — which is not covered by FOIA. The letter did not say whether any such records exist.
Note: the request as filed did not state the calendar date; the Secret Service's letter quotes it with a leftover drafting note ("please insert the specific calendar date before filing"). The letter gives 90 days to appeal.
Fee waiver / faster processing: The July 28 letter does not address our fee-waiver or fast-processing requests.
View the Secret Service's letter
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PDF, 2 pages
U.S. Department of Justice — Office of Information Policy · FOIA-2026-04169 · filed Jul 24, 2026 · answered Jul 28, 2026 · sent elsewhere, nothing released
What we asked for: Records held by DOJ's FARA Unit — the office that runs the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people working for foreign governments or parties to register — about two groups: (a) Shabtai, an organization associated with Yale University, and (b) Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF). We asked for any registration statements, follow-up filings, or correspondence, including any letter asking either group whether it should register, or any decision about that. If none existed, we asked DOJ to say so in writing.
What we got: No records and no search. This office said it only handles records for itself and DOJ's top leadership offices, that each DOJ part handles its own FOIA requests, and that we should send the request to the National Security Division "as the federal entity most likely to maintain the records you are seeking."
Next step: the request would have to be filed again with the National Security Division. The letter gives 90 days to appeal.
View DOJ's letter
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PDF, 2 pages
Department of War, Office of the Secretary / Joint Staff FOIA office · FOIA 26-F-2781 · filed Jul 24, 2026 · interim letter Jul 28, 2026 · still open, nothing released yet
What we asked for: The public financial-disclosure reports (OGE Form 278e — the yearly form senior officials file listing their assets, income, and outside roles) that Elbridge Colby filed for his Defense Department job, plus any ethics agreement, recusal statement (a promise to stay out of certain matters), or conflict-of-interest decision about his ties to outside organizations.
What we got so far: A status letter, not an answer. The office gave the case its number and said it will miss the normal 20-working-day deadline because of "unusual circumstances": it does not hold the records itself, so it must collect them from other offices and may need to consult other agencies. The request is in the "complex" line, handled in order received, behind about 3,683 open requests.
Appeal: the letter gives 90 days to appeal the denial of fast processing. No final answer has arrived yet.
Fee waiver / faster processing: We asked for both; the July 28 letter turned down fast ("expedited") processing, saying we had not "clearly demonstrated how the information will lose its value" if handled in the normal order, and said the fee waiver will be decided after the search, with fees charged only if the office answers within the legal time limit or the records run over 5,000 pages.
View the Pentagon's status letter
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PDF, 3 pages
U.S. Department of Justice — Office of Information Policy · FOIA-2026-04080 · filed Jul 18, 2026 · answered Jul 21, 2026 · nothing released · appeal A-2026-01951 filed Jul 21, 2026
What we asked for: Two specific records: (1) the unredacted copy of the Epstein-related correspondence in which the name of Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem had been blacked out in DOJ's earlier release, and (2) the decision or memo that approved that blackout and stated which FOIA exemption was used and why. The request noted that the name had since been publicly confirmed, so the reason for hiding it no longer held.
What we got: A form letter that did not deal with either record. DOJ described the request as one for "the Jeffrey Epstein and/or Ghislaine Maxwell files" and said everything it will release under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (the November 19, 2025 law) is already in its online Epstein Library. It listed what was held back there in general — victims' personal information, child sexual abuse material, material that could hurt an active investigation or prosecution ("narrowly tailored and temporary"), images of death or abuse, and some material covered by civil-lawsuit privileges — under Exemptions 3, 5, 6, 7(A) and 7(C). It said part of the records is sealed by a federal court in New York.
Appeal: we appealed the same day (A-2026-01951), arguing the letter answered a different request, applied exemptions across the board without looking at the two records, and that the privacy reason fails because DOJ itself had confirmed the name. DOJ acknowledged the appeal on July 21. No decision on the appeal has arrived yet.
Fee waiver / faster processing: On July 22 DOJ said our request to speed up the appeal was missing a signed statement; we sent the statement that day.
View DOJ's letter
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PDF, 3 pages
U.S. Department of Justice — Office of Information Policy · FOIA-2026-04063 · filed Jul 16, 2026 · answered Jul 21, 2026 · sent elsewhere, nothing released
What we asked for: Any contract, memorandum of understanding, agreement, or access-and-audit policy that controls how the U.S. Marshals Service or the FBI can get into or use Flock Safety's network of automatic license-plate-reader cameras, in effect from January 1, 2024 on. We said we were not asking for general emails.
What we got: No records and no search. This office said neither it nor DOJ's top leadership offices it serves "typically maintains records on individuals" or would keep this kind of record. It said each DOJ part handles its own FOIA requests and suggested sending the request to the FBI and the Marshals Service "as the federal entities most likely to maintain the records you are seeking."
Next step: the request would have to be filed again with the FBI and the Marshals Service. The letter gives 90 days to appeal.
View DOJ's letter
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PDF, 3 pages
National Archives and Records Administration · FOIA NGC26-543 · filed Jun 19, 2026 · answered Jul 9, 2026 · no records
What we asked for: A copy of any "records schedule" or records-disposal authority the National Design Studio has filed with the National Archives since the studio was set up in August 2025. A records schedule is the official plan, approved by the Archives, for how long an office keeps its records and when it may destroy them. If none had been filed, we asked the Archives to say so in writing.
What we got: A written "none." The letter says: "Following a search, no records were found to be responsive to your request." It adds that agencies file their own schedules only for records not already covered by the government-wide General Records Schedules, and links to those.
Also: a copy of the request re-sent on July 4 was treated as a duplicate and answered under the same number. The letter gives 90 days to appeal.
View the Archives' letter
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PDF, 2 pages
U.S. Election Assistance Commission · FOIA 26-0064 · filed Jul 2, 2026 · answered Jul 9, 2026 · no records
What we asked for: Any interagency agreement, memorandum of understanding, statement of work, or task order between the Election Assistance Commission and the National Design Studio (or the Executive Office of the President) about vote.gov — or any preview, replacement, or redesign of it — dated from January 1, 2026 on. We said we were not asking for general emails.
What we got: A one-line answer: "The EAC does not possess records responsive to your request." No records were sent. The letter gives 90 days to appeal.
What happened next: our request only covered 2026, but the National Design Studio's vote.gov preview existed earlier, so we filed a new request for August–December 2025 (EAC 26-0083, still pending).
View the EAC's letter
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U.S. Office of Government Ethics · OGE FOIA FY 26/080 · filed Jul 4, 2026 · answered Jul 7, 2026 · no records under FOIA
What we asked for: The public financial-disclosure report (OGE Form 278e — the form senior officials file listing their assets, income, and outside roles) that Joe Gebbia filed for his federal appointment, plus any ethics waiver, recusal agreement, or permission to hold outside positions given to him, dated from August 1, 2025 on.
What we got: No records. OGE said it searched and "did not locate any records responsive" under FOIA. It explained that these kinds of records are not released through FOIA at all: a separate law (the Ethics in Government Act) sets its own way to get financial-disclosure reports, so they fall under FOIA Exemption 3 (records another law handles). Instead, OGE pointed to its online system, where reports it has certified and ethics agreements are posted. It said conflict-of-interest waivers are requested from the person's own agency using OGE Form 201, and certificates of divestiture through a separate OGE tool.
The letter gives 90 days to appeal.
Fee waiver / faster processing: The July 7 letter does not mention our fee-waiver or fast-processing requests.
View OGE's letter
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