US Department of Homeland Security Fails to Comply with Freedom of Information Act for Third Time in a Week.
The department claimed it could not find records, despite clear public statements and evidence of their existence. This raises questions about the agency's record-keeping practices and its compliance with the law.
A group of documents requested by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which includes emails sent or received by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem containing terms like "CNN" and "ICEBlock," were denied four times in 48 hours. The department cited a lack of records, despite public statements indicating otherwise.
One possible explanation is that the search was not thorough enough to turn up the requested documents. Another possibility is that discussions between Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi about prosecuting CNN for reporting on ICEBlock took place through third-party applications, such as Signal, which were never forwarded to official accounts.
The lack of transparency from DHS is concerning, especially given the administration's history of meddling with FOIA releases to prevent disclosures of embarrassing or potentially illegal activities. The department has also been criticized for its handling of other sensitive topics, including the Trump administration's use of private messages on social media platforms like Truth Social.
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The department claimed it could not find records, despite clear public statements and evidence of their existence. This raises questions about the agency's record-keeping practices and its compliance with the law.
A group of documents requested by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which includes emails sent or received by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem containing terms like "CNN" and "ICEBlock," were denied four times in 48 hours. The department cited a lack of records, despite public statements indicating otherwise.
One possible explanation is that the search was not thorough enough to turn up the requested documents. Another possibility is that discussions between Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi about prosecuting CNN for reporting on ICEBlock took place through third-party applications, such as Signal, which were never forwarded to official accounts.
The lack of transparency from DHS is concerning, especially given the administration's history of meddling with FOIA releases to prevent disclosures of embarrassing or potentially illegal activities. The department has also been criticized for its handling of other sensitive topics, including the Trump administration's use of private messages on social media platforms like Truth Social.
The Intercept urges readers to support our independent journalism by becoming a member.
I'm so done with agencies like DHS making people jump through hoops just to get some info 
. Can't they just be transparent and open about what's going on? It's like they're hiding something 
, and it raises serious questions about their record-keeping practices. Like, if they can't even find records that are publicly out there, how do they expect us to trust them with our safety and security? 
The fact that they're denying documents multiple times just because they "can't find" them is getting old 
. We need more accountability from these folks 
, not less. And btw, what's up with all the third-party apps being used to hide sensitive conversations? It's like they think we're not paying attention 
!
the fact that DHS cant even find records they're supposed to have in the first place is super suspicious 
i mean how hard can it be to keep track of emails and documents from a sec'ty? sounds like someone's trying to hide something 
and btw what's up with all these ppl using signal for gov deets? 
it sounds like some shady stuff was going on behind closed doors. and i dont think "we couldn't find records" is a legit excuse 
especially when they're talking about CNN and ICEBlock which are kinda big names 
. Like, come on DHS, if you've got records, let people see 'em! It's not like they're hiding anything scandalous or something 
. The fact that they kept denying requests for those emails despite public statements saying otherwise just raises more questions than answers.
. I mean, we've all been there, right? But at the same time, you gotta wonder if there's some deeper issue at play here... like maybe they were trying to keep something from getting out 
.
. Just another day in the world of government secrecy and bureaucracy 
.
I've seen this happen before, and it's always the same story – they say they can't find records, but then someone digs up evidence that shows otherwise. 
I mean, who needs transparency when you've got "lack of records" as an excuse? Sounds legit to me. And honestly, if the press can't handle a little bit of bureaucratic red tape, that's on them, not DHS 
The fact that some documents were denied four times in 48 hours just proves they're doing their job right. And let's be real, if there was something fishy going on, wouldn't it have been leaked by now?