Freedom of the Press Foundation v. Dep’t of Justice
This federal Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, case arises out of the refusal of the FBI, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice to release records requested by Freedom of the Press Foundation regarding the FBI’s use of national security letters (“NSLs”) and exigent letters to obtain the toll billing records of journalists. The Reporters Committee, joined by 37 media organizations, filed an amicus brief in support of Freedom of the Press Foundation’s opposition to the Government’s motion for summary judgment to emphasize the critical importance to the press and the public of access to information about the manner in which the FBI seeks to use legal process to obtain the toll billing records of reporters and news organizations.