FBI Tries To Limit Info Searches (freedom of information act)

[moobu2]

Justice Department argues for rules that would limit the FBI's respectability to find requested documents...If Bush's "Justice Department" were to win it could have huge effect on Government accountability, openness and corruption.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/21/national/main668365.shtml

"AP) The FBI is fighting in court to limit how hard it has to search for government documents requested by the public under the Freedom of Information Act, one of the main laws for ensuring openness in government.

If the bureau prevails, people could have a diminished chance of getting documents from the nation's most famous law enforcement agency, open records experts said.

In court, the FBI is defending a recent automated search that missed some documents that had been released years ago in a separate FOIA case.

Representing the FBI, the Justice Department asked a federal judge this month to dismiss this lawsuit and said its request should not be undermined "by an unsuccessful search for a document as long as the search was adequate." FBI officials declined to further address the ongoing litigation. "