The possibility that Freedom of Information Act requesters can recover attorneys’ fees in FOIA lawsuits makes it easier to find attorneys to represent requesters on a contingency or pro bono basis. Conversely, when new restrictions on the award of attorneys fees are put in place, as they have been in recent years, the availability of […]
The government failed to preserve certain official email messages generated by the Office of the Vice President and the Executive Office of the President in 2003 as required by law, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald revealed in a January 23 letter (pdf). The contents and quantity of the missing email is unknown. In another letter dated […]
Cross-posted from Secrecy News: A new report from the Congressional Research Service takes a detailed look at proposals to significantly restructure the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. The proposals, offered by a Department of Energy Task Force, include closure and consolidation of various nuclear facilities and production of a newly designed Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). “Some […]
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev nominated the crew of the ill-fated Soviet nuclear submarine K-19, which suffered a loss of coolant accident on July 4, 1961, for a Nobel Peace Prize this week. “Through the courage of the heroic sailors, a reactor explosion and a consequent environmental catastrophe in the ocean were averted,” Mr. Gorbachev […]
Jeffrey Lewis of ArmsControlWonk has obtained a copy of the latest IAEA brief on Iran’s nuclear program, “Developments in the Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran and Agency Verification of Iran’s Suspension of Enrichment-related and Reprocessing Activities.” The amateur satellite spotters who monitor the orbiting network of classified reconnaissance […]
A new report from the Congressional Research Service takes a detailed look at proposals to significantly restructure the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. The proposals, offered by a Department of Energy Task Force, include closure and consolidation of various nuclear facilities and production of a newly designed Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). “Some express concern that Task […]
The President did not mention the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership in the State of the Union Address. He did give a half sentence to nuclear power, along with windmills, but no specifics. The Department of Energy budget will be rolled out on Monday, around 2:00 p.m. It might appear there. Will keep you posted if […]
Military regulations offer wide latitude in the gathering of domestic intelligence information. “Contrary to popular belief, there is no absolute ban on [military] intelligence components collecting U.S. person information,” according to a 2001 Army intelligence memo. What’s more, military intelligence agencies can provisionally “receive” domestic intelligence information that they may not be legally permitted to […]
The intelligence reform legislation of 2004 abolished the position of Director of Central Intelligence, transferring many of its functions to the new Director of National Intelligence. This raised a technical legal question as to whether the DCI who was serving at the time, Porter J. Goss, would need to be formally reappointed to the position […]
In the past, the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that develops spy satellites, has released unclassified portions of its budget request documents. But last year, the NRO refused to do so, claiming that these unclassified materials fall under the “operational files” exemption to the Freedom of Information Act. A lawsuit brought by the Federation of […]
The Department of Energy has released a sanitized version of its nineteenth report to Congress on inadvertent releases of classified nuclear weapons information through the declassification process. Out of more than 150,000 pages at the National Archives that were reviewed by DOE, 16 pages contained Restricted Data, and another 99 pages contained Formerly Restricted Data […]
Some notable rules and regulations on security policy that have recently been published include the following: “National Industrial Security Program Directive Number 1,” Information Security Oversight Office, January 27, 2006. “International Interchange of Patent Rights and Technical Information,” Department of Defense Instruction 2000.03, January 17, 2006. “Naturalization of Aliens Serving in the Armed Forces of […]