FBI receives worst FOIA performance award

The National Security Archive awarded the FBI its Rosemary Award for the worst FOIA performance by a federal agency, the AP reported. In the past four years, 66 percent of those requesting information were told that the FBI had found no responsive records. In 2008, only 0.5 percent of requesters received all data they asked for. The FBI doesn't check cross-reference names, the entire file or paper/field office records unless it is specifically asked to do so.

The FBI tells two out of every three Freedom of Information Act requesters that it can't find the records they asked for — a failure rate five times higher than other major federal agencies, a private study has found.

The FBI's performance results from an outdated and deliberately limited search process, according to the National Security Archive, a private group that publishes declassified government documents and files many FOIA requests.

The Archive awarded the FBI its Rosemary Award for the worst Freedom of Information Act performance by a federal agency. The award is named for former President Richard M. Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods, known for re-enacting her claim to have accidentally erased 18 1/2 minutes of a White House tape recording when she stretched to answer a phone. It's given annually around Sunshine Week, when journalism organizations promote open government and freedom of information.

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