August’s FOIA Friday session focused on documents that are especially useful during the election season: personal financial disclosures, business interests and finances. MuckRock’s data reporter Dillon Bergin walked us through these documents with guest speaker Elizabeth Clemons from Sunlight Search.
Personal financial disclosures can reveal a candidate’s personal ties to donors, income streams and legal history. During the session, attendees learned where to find federal financial disclosures and ethics disclosures. The session’s tipsheet includes templates and instructions on how to file for financial disclosures.
During the session, attendees were shown how to determine a candidate’s various business interests by searching through Secretary of State records, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings and Federal Audit Clearinghouse.
Using these records, the session covered the essential investigative questions that you should ask while reviewing these documents.
Watch the full discussion below.
If you want to catch up on previous sessions or want to register for future sessions, MuckRock’s FOIA Friday project page has everything you need.
The Update
- Spokane falling behind on public records requests: The city of Spokane is struggling to meet its obligations under the Washington state Public Records Act, reports Emry Dinman in the Spokesman-Review. The city failed to respond to requests within five business days about a quarter of the time. George Erb, secretary of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, says “it’s troublesome that the city is admitting that they are struggling to meet even that.”
- Meet the new Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy: The Freedom of the Press Foundation named Lauren Harper as their inaugural Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy. Harper’s work will focus on highlighting and fighting the multitude of ways the government keeps secrets — from the press, from the public, and from congressional overseers.
- Former foster care children get access to their own records: A new bill in Vermont allows former foster care children to access their records, reports Howard Weiss-Tisman for Vermont Public Radio. Advocates say that many will be able to access their own medical records, while others hope to find family members.
FOIA Finds
- Inspection records showed bugs, mold and mildew at Boar’s Head facility: New records released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that inspectors reported dozens of violations at a Boar’s Head plant in Virginia. The grocery company recalled all of the deli meats made in that facility following a listeria outbreak, reports Alexander Tin at CBS News.
- Steep fees for police body camera footage in Arizona: Law enforcement agencies are allowed to charge a one-time fee of $46 “per video-hour reviewed” for public records requests that seek footage from body-worn cameras. Public records advocates claim that the fee is leading to massive costs for the public and potentially illegal charges, reports Jerod MacDonald-Evoy in the Arizona Mirror.
- New manumission records released online:The Museum of the City of New York has released a new digitized collection of manumission records of Black New Yorkers who were freed by their enslavers. The records date between 1785 and 1809 and are now available online for the first time, reports Carolyn Eastman in the Smithsonian Magazine.
