October 12, 2001
MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF ALL FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
FROM: John Ashcroft, Attorney General
SUBJECT: The Freedom of Information Act
As you know, the Department of Justice and this Administration are committed
to full compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C.
§ 552 (2000). It is only through a well-informed citizenry
that the leaders of our nation remain accountable to the governed and the
American people can be assured that neither fraud nor government waste
is concealed.
The Department of Justice and this Administration are equally committed
to protecting other fundamental values that are held by our society. Among
them are safeguarding our national security, enhancing the effectiveness
of our law enforcement agencies, protecting sensitive business information
and, not least, preserving personal privacy.
Our citizens have a strong interest as well in a government that is fully
functional and efficient. Congress and the courts have long recognized
that certain legal privileges ensure candid and complete agency deliberations
without fear that they will be made public. Other privileges ensure that
lawyers' deliberations and communications are kept private. No leader can
operate effectively without confidential advice and counsel. Exemption
5 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), incorporates these
privileges and the sound policies underlying them.
I encourage your agency to carefully consider the protection of all such
values and interests when making disclosure determinations under the FOIA.
Any discretionary decision by your agency to disclose information protected
under the FOIA should be made only after full and deliberate consideration
of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests that could
be implicated by disclosure of the information.
In making these decisions, you should consult with the Department of Justice's
Office of Information and Privacy when significant FOIA issues arise, as
well as with our Civil Division on FOIA litigation matters. When you carefully
consider FOIA requests and decide to withhold records, in whole or in part,
you can be assured that the Department of Justice will defend your decisions
unless they lack a sound legal basis or present an unwarranted risk of
adverse impact on the ability of other agencies to protect other important
records.
This memorandum supersedes the Department of Justice's FOIA Memorandum
of October 4, 1993, and it likewise creates no substantive or procedural
right enforceable at law.
Go to: DOJ FOIA Page
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