Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 2019
Publisher
University of Florida Levin College of Law
Source Publication
University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy
Source ISSN
1047-8035
Abstract
The Hillary Clinton email fiasco demonstrated alarming failures in the procedures of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); derelictions in archive integrity and adequacy of search that an internal report identified as “longstanding, systemic weaknesses” in the FOIA. These procedural gaps pose dire consequences for the future of the FOIA, where requesters query incomplete archives and agencies intentionally desert their search obligations. The abandonment of these duties necessitates that the federal government look toward new mechanisms for access to government records and adopt strong affirmative disclosure principles. There has been little scholarship on the twin failures of archive integrity and adequacy of search, but support for increased instances of affirmative disclosure is building. This Article progresses the argument by presenting the country’s enduring, unheralded commitment to these principles and makes recommendations on how to further adopt affirmative disclosure measures.
Recommended Citation
Wagner, A.Jay, ""Longstanding, Systemic Weaknesses": Hillary Clinton's Emails, FOIA's Defects and Affirmative Disclosure" (2019). College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications. 572.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/comm_fac/572
Comments
Published version. University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Summer 2019): 359-412. Publisher link. © 2019 University of Florida Levin College of Law. Used with permission.