Pentagon proposes new secrecy power to withhold unclassified records from FOIA
Summary
The Pentagon has asked Congress to give it new power to keep certain unclassified military records secret from the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This proposal would allow the Defense Department to withhold records labeled as "controlled unclassified information" if releasing them could harm national defense, changing how public access to government information is currently handled.Key Facts
- The Pentagon wants a new law to let it withhold some unclassified records from FOIA requests.
- The records involved are called "controlled unclassified information" (CUI), which are sensitive but not officially classified.
- Currently, CUI does not automatically allow the government to block records from the public; agencies must use one of FOIA’s nine exemptions.
- The proposal would let the Defense Department withhold CUI records based on military judgment of harm and outweighing public interest.
- The CUI system was created to standardize labels for sensitive but unclassified info across agencies.
- Critics say the new power could reduce government transparency and make it harder to get information through FOIA.
- The Pentagon has recently restricted journalists’ access inside its buildings and required official escorts.
- Federal judges ruled against the Pentagon’s restrictions on reporters, but the Pentagon is appealing those decisions.
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