Judge Slaps CIA For Withholding Routine Documents

A federal judge has chastised the CIA for “inappropriately” withholding routine documents.

In a recent decision, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell denounced several of the CIA’s legal arguments. At one point, she accused the CIA of a “shameless twisting of the factual record.” Other assertions by the agency, she called “dead wrong” and “implausible.”

A non-profit law firm that specializes in national security cases sued the CIA and five other federal agencies over documents concerning compliance with open records laws.

Sounds straightforward. But the firm, known as National Security Counselors, said the CIA dodged its responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act and mounted “an extended campaign of misrepresentation” related to information it holds.

At one point, an “unidentified third party” handed the firm two classified documents related to the lawsuit, prompting the FBI to confiscate them. Eventually, the CIA provided redacted versions.

The CIA, meanwhile, asserted it could keep secret the records being sought by the firm under a Cold War-era law that created the spy agency and allowed it to withhold personnel information such as salaries and the number of employees.

Howell, who is a federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed that argument.

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