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jasonleopold.bsky.social
Investigative Reporter, Bloomberg News. "FOIA terrorist." Band Tshirt hoarder. Subscribe to my newsletter, FOIA Files. Opinions are mine. [email protected] Signal: JasonLeopold.666 https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/foia-files
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The Air Force may have been caught off guard or was just unprepared when President Donald Trump said the next generation fighter jet would be called F-47, documents obtained via FOIA suggest.

submitted 5 days ago • 25 comments

Good one from @jasonleopold.bsky.social on the utterly baffling process of how the Pentagon's sixth-generation fighter wound up with the designation F-47. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 5 days ago • 14 comments

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! How the USAF Designated Its Next Fighter Jet ‘F-47’ The USAF may have been caught off guard or was just unprepared when President Donald Trump said the next generation fighter jet would be called F-47, docs I obtained suggest www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 5 days ago • 17 comments

DHS Sec. Kristi Noem directed FEMA to prepare a memo on how to abolish itself & create a re-branded org. When the memo came back, it proposed 4 possible new names, including ... National Office of Emergency Management, or NOEM. @zhirji.bsky.social @jasonleopold.bsky.social ‪@laurenthal.bsky.social

submitted 8 days ago • 14 comments

These are possible names considered for a smaller organization to replace FEMA, from a March memo: - Office of Crisis Management (OCM) - Office of Crisis Response (OCR) - National Crisis Response Agency (NCRA) - National Office of Emergency Management (NOEM) 👀 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

submitted 8 days ago • 8 comments

SCOOP: DHS Sec. Kristi Noem directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare a memo on how to abolish itself and create a re-branded, radically smaller disaster response organization, according to a copy of the document reviewed by Bloomberg News. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

submitted 8 days ago • 31 comments

BIG SCOOP! In a newly revealed March memo, titled "Abolishing FEMA," officials proposed ways to dramatically curtail the US government’s disaster response role Also the memo proposed four possible new names for FEMA, which inlcuded the National Office of Emergency Management (NOEM)

submitted 8 days ago • 17 comments

Happy FOIAFriday the 13th! NEW issue of my newsletter is out. In March, I filed a #FOIA request with the US Institute of Peace just as DOGE was taking over the agency. This week USIP sent me the most incredible response to a #FOIA request I have ever received. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 12 days ago • 20 comments

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! My quest to unearth docs related to the “lost” #FOIA requests linked to 2 convicted hackers has been met with a Glomar by FDIC. Plus, a look behind the scenes as the Secret Service prepared agents for Trump’s arraignment 2 yrs ago www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 19 days ago • 4 comments

BIG doc score by @danahull.bsky.social @bloomberg.com is publishing photos & partial footage of a fatal Tesla crash, which was recorded by the Model Y and downloaded by police, for the 1st time after obtaining the images & video through a public records request www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

submitted 21 days ago • 4 comments

@jasonleopold.bsky.social recently reported that State lost half of its FOIA office. Last year it took the department 564 days to process an average complex FOIA request (which constitute most requests the dept receives, I'd bet). It's fair to expect most requests will now take 2 years or more.

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

SCOOP: DOJ is dissolving its four-decade old transnational crime fighting network, OCDETF. Its operations, I've learned, will be absorbed by the new DHS task forces But many q's remain. A group of Democratic senators have sent a letter to AG Bondi seeking answers 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

submitted 22 days ago • 36 comments

10 years ago today, I testified before a congressional committee about the #FOIA and the challenges requesters faced obtaining documents from government agencies. Sadly, it's far worse now than it was 10 years ago. I'll continue fighting for the #FOIA and the public's right to know!

submitted 23 days ago • 4 comments

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! An MOU I obtained from DOJ reveals the procedures for conducting background investigations for “high-level national security positions” of Trump appointees. Plus, budget cuts have impacted the State Dept’s #FOIA operations www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 26 days ago • 7 comments

State Department's FOIA office has been cut in half, according to @jasonleopold.bsky.social's latest. And! DHS's new chief FOIA officer (former Heritage Foundation lawyer) told staff not to address 2025 FOIAs until they clear out their backlog. Good thing DHS's backlog is only 200,000 FOIAs...

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

Gift Link! Newsletter | FOIA Files Document Shows How FBI Handled Background Checks for Trump Appointees MOU reveals procedures for conducting background investigations for “high-level national security positions.” www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet... via @bloomberg.com @jasonleopold.bsky.social

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

Trump stopped mentioning the hazard mitigation grant program in major disaster declarations, so I started looking into what was happening. Here's what I found by asking each state asking about the status of their recent hazard mitigation requests. Full story here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

submitted 27 days ago • 7 comments

ICYMI the special edition of FOIA Files #FOIA requests at dozens federal agencies in Feb were “lost” by a government records contractor due to a "data failure." It turns out, the disappearance of the FOIAs was linked to 2 convicted hackers who worked at the company www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 33 days ago • 4 comments

Newsletter | FOIA Files Case of the ‘Lost’ FOIA Requests FOIA requests at numerous fed agencies were “lost” by a govt records contractor. Turns out, the “data failure” was linked to 2 convicted hackers who worked there www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet... via @bloomberg.com @jasonleopold.bsky.social

submitted 33 days ago • 5 comments

Two brothers previously convicted of hacking - including installing a backdoor on a State Dept system while working for contractor - were hired after prison by software firm that processes gov records. In their new job they destroyed 30 databases and wiped 1,800+ files including IRS and GSA data...

submitted 35 days ago • 10 comments

Hundreds of FOIA requests disappeared because the federal government outsourced records response to a private contractor that hired two convicted hackers. Score one for efficiency! @jasonleopold.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

submitted 35 days ago • 1 comment

Today's must-read, featuring incredible reporting by @jasonleopold.bsky.social. His story is wild—and scary as all get-out, if you care about the security of data at just about every federal agency. Then, as a companion piece, read Jason's new FOIA Files, which turns the craziness up to 11.

submitted 35 days ago • 3 comments

1/ Earlier this month, the Head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) for Papua New Guinea threatened DDoSecrets with legal action - "including cooperation with INTERPOL" - if we don't censor the Mineral Resources Authority data. We refuse to comply. www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

submitted 37 days ago • 5 comments

I've been a FOIA requester for 15 years. I also worked as a FOIA analyst for a large government agency that used FOIAXpress. This maddening story from @jasonleopold.bsky.social underscores some big picture problems w/the current administration of FOIA's overwhelming reliance on 3rd party vendors.

submitted 35 days ago • 2 comments