The Asia Foundation is, on the surface, a private non-profit that contributes to the development of Asia, including donating millions of books. In reality, since it was created by Central Intelligence Agency in 1951, TAF has engaged in a decades long campaign to misrepresent its origins, purpose and funding.

Never before has it been so easy to engage others in your open government cause. Thinking of starting your own public records campaign? Already submitted a request, only to be thwarted by fees? We chatted with three MuckRock users who have had crowdfunding success to hear their tips for getting over crowdfunding anxieties, getting the word out, and, ultimately, getting records.

Last week, Curtis Waltman was given the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia, where the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference was being held. If you’ve ever wondered what a police trade show is like, you’re about to find out.

If a company is going to be reimbursed for fees associated with filing bid protests against an agency headed up by a person with whom they’ve done business in the past, both the process by which the protests came to be sustained and any reimbursements paid to the company ought to be a matter of public record. In the case of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Performant Financial Corporation, that isn’t the case.

To accomplish its mission, the Central Intelligence Agency will undertake missions utilizing assets, agents, and officers under official and nonofficial covers. When these missions require the use of an organization, the Agency will resort to the use of proprietary companies and organizations as a means of maintaining cover or accomplishing goals that the U.S. Government isn’t able to openly support. Eventually, the Agency has to terminate these proprietaries. The story of how that happens is where things get interesting.

Back in March, Emma Best requested copies of “written requests for investigations or reports relating to Donald J. Trump or his campaign” from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Just this week, the ODNI responded, saying that after a “comprehensive search,” it couldn’t find any. Which is strange, because as a simple Google search found responsive records.