WASHINGTON, D.C. July 29, 2004 — The Center for Public Integrity today filed lawsuits against the Department of Justice and the Office of Personnel Management for failure to provide documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

The lawsuit against the Department of Justice notes that DOJ has failed to provide the Center with an electronic copy of the complete Foreign Agents Registration Act database maintained by the Foreign Agents Registration Unit Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department.

As the Center reported in late June, DOJ said it was unable to copy its records electronically because their computer system was “so fragile.” The report also quoted the Foreign Agents Unit spokesman as predicting that making electronic copies “could result in a major loss of data which would be devastating.”

The lawsuit against OPM has two parts: the first part was a request for all electronic data regarding or detailing Schedule C employees made in January; it was amended in March of this year to include all employees since 1993 of the federal government included on databases maintained by OPM.

The Center wishes to examine political contributions and lobbying activities of federal employees both before they enter government and after they leave.

The Center argues in the lawsuits that it has a statutory right to the requested records and that there is no legal basis in either case for the U.S. government’s refusal to make them publicly available.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that does investigative reporting and research on public policy issues in the United States and around the world.

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