Timeline for Is there any way I request a copy of any of my phone calls the US government has recorded over the years?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
12 events
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| Dec 2, 2020 at 4:26 | comment | added | ohwilleke♦ | People often ask at Law.SE "can I sue" given a set of facts, and the simple answer is "anyone with a word processor and $220 for a filing fee" can always sue. But, this isn't really responsive to what someone is really asking and isn't a fair answer. When someone asks "can I" anyone who isn't being pedantic realizes that the real question asked when someone says something like that the naturally implied meaning is "can I successfully" achieve this result. The answer to that, if you analyze the exemptions, is "no." | |
| Dec 1, 2020 at 20:00 | comment | added | bishop | @Kevin: "The Freedom of Information Act [5 USC 552], or FOIA, generally provides that any person has a right—enforceable in court—of access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions thereof) are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions". If these fall under those exemptions, then the person has no "right" to ask for them. Whether or not having a "right" implies a "capability" and therefore a "can" or "cannot" is perhaps more semantic than I care to be. | |
| Dec 1, 2020 at 19:57 | comment | added | Kevin | @bishop: Are you saying the FBI will arrest or otherwise trouble someone who files a FOIA request for something which is exempt? Because if not, then I think you very well can ask for it and then get denied. In this case, OP asked the wrong question: "Can I ask?" instead of "Will I see results?" | |
| Dec 1, 2020 at 19:56 | comment | added | bishop | @Kevin: I disagree. The FBI FOIA is disjoint from the common FOIA system, and has its own requirements. In particular, the FBI FOIA records requests has 9 exemptions and I believe the requested records would fall under them. Hence, no I don't think one can ask for these records. Hence my comment. | |
| Dec 1, 2020 at 19:36 | comment | added | Kevin | @bishop: OP didn't ask "Can I get a copy of this data?" OP asked "Can I request a copy of this data?" The answer to the latter question is unambiguously yes: You can request it, but the government might refuse. OTOH, you can obviously request anything under the sun, so arguably the question is pointless. | |
| Dec 1, 2020 at 5:01 | comment | added | JohnFx | @ohwilleke - If so, I don't think it would be due to the agency blocking it as much as them not having the wherewithal to be able to put their hands on those recordings easily. If they even exist. Never hurts to ask though. | |
| Dec 1, 2020 at 1:59 | vote | accept | Gabriel Fair | ||
| Dec 1, 2020 at 1:44 | comment | added | ohwilleke♦ | I agree with @bishop that the odds of actually getting anything with such a request are basically nil. | |
| Nov 30, 2020 at 18:26 | history | edited | JohnFx | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Nov 30, 2020 at 18:24 | comment | added | JohnFx | My job actually involves the handling of FOIA requests. You can absolutely request these types of documents. The issue is whether they will claim an exemption and reject your request. I added a link to a video that describes the legal grounds by which an agency might be able to reject a request. All else being equal, the guidance DOJ gives to the agencies is release it unless you have a compelling reason not to, even if it could technically be exempt from disclosure. | |
| Nov 30, 2020 at 4:21 | comment | added | bishop | I am skeptical of the certainity implied by "Yes." Do you have an example of someone doing this? Otherwise, the answer reads more like a "Maybe... and here is how you go about making a FOIA request." | |
| Nov 30, 2020 at 0:44 | history | answered | JohnFx | CC BY-SA 4.0 |