You Can Ask, but They Can't Tell [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
The U.S. Justice Department [3]'s Freedom of Information office admitted that its database of lobbyists working for foreign governments, political parties and companies is "so fragile" that making an electronic copy "could result in a major loss of data." The Congressional General Accounting Office has repeatedly stated that the Department's Foreign Registration Unit "lacks the resources to fulfill its responsibilities." The non-profit Center for Public Integrity [4], which had its Freedom of Information Act [5] request for foreign lobbyist data denied due to technical concerns, noted the irony of the Unit being "under-funded" while "the lobbying activity it is supposed to track and make freely available to the public is extravagant."