With Sunshine Week just around the corner, we wanted to count down the days to our favorite time of year with a closer look at what’s going on behind the black bars: the nine federal FOIA exemptions. Today, we’re looking at b(4), the “trade secrets” exemption.

The FCC gave Booz Allen Hamilton chance after chance to suggest redactions to its contract documents. The corporation’s back-and-forth with an FCC lawyer provides a background glimpse into how the “trade secrets” exemption works in practice.

Contracts are often the ideal starting point for investigative projects like MuckRock’s Booz Allen Hamilton deep-dive. Here’s what to look for in a dissecting contract, and how to draft follow-up requests based on what you find.

Weeks before Edward Snowden’s leaks came to light, MuckRock asked dozens of agencies for contracts with mega-consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, his former employer. We’ve been deluged with the records that have come in so far, so here’s a chance to give them a look yourself.

When MuckRock asked numerous government offices for copies of their contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton from the last five years, we received a range of responses, from digital copies within a few days to flat out denials, stating that the agency couldn’t, or wouldn’t, find the contracts at all.

In most of America, you could buy a home for $270,000. Or, if you were a public documents wonk, you could get all of the 95,000 pages the FBI says may relate to its work with Booz Allen Hamilton in the last five years.

Over the past several months, I’ve filed for contracts between Booz Allen Hamilton and almost a hundred federal agencies and departments. Eleven have completed those requests, releasing thousands of pages detailing how an increasing amount of America’s governmental operations are being outsourced to private contractors.