FOIA and Documents Still Withheld by the U.S. Government

First, we ask that you sign the online petition for the release of all documents concerning the Peltier case.

We also ask you to write a letter to the congressional committees responsible for the administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) throughout the federal government.

Sample Letter

Honorable Diane Feinstein, Chairman

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security

Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate

224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC  20510

(Insert Date)

Dear Senator Feinstein:

Leonard Peltier is a prominent Native American activist who is currently imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Leonard Peltier has been incarcerated for over 30 years as a result of a shoot-out at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (South Dakota) on June 26, 1975, that resulted in the deaths of two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a young Native American man.

Currently, Leonard Peltier's attorneys are attempting to secure his files from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA requests have been made on Mr. Pelter's behalf to FBI Headquarters and its field offices around the country. 

There have been numerous unnecessary delays in the handling of the FOIA requests submitted on Mr. Peltier's behalf. For example, some FBI field offices have said that the scope of the inquiries outstrips their capacity to process the documents and referred the requests to FBI headquarters; the FBI Legal Attaché in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, has not responded to Leonard Peltier's request of January 9, 2002; and FBI Field Offices in Albany, Pittsburgh, Portland, and San Francisco claim that their files relating to Mr. Peltier have all been destroyed, some as early as September 1976.

I-along with Amnesty International and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights-urge that congressional hearings be held on the handling of Leonard Peltier's FOIA requests. The FBI must be required to divulge the exact number of documents it maintains on Leonard Peltier and the Field Offices that maintain these records; the total number of documents regarding this case that have been destroyed, as well as the date and authority under which records were destroyed; and whether or not any records dealing with Leonard Peltier have been transferred to any other agencies, as well as pertinent details of those transfers. 

More importantly, these documents-that are over 25 years old and historically significant-must be released. In 2002, Congressman Barney Frank arranged for the release of 30,000 documents for this very reason. However, tens of thousands more documents remain to be released. Previously released documents showed repeated instances of FBI misconduct and forced the government prosecutor to admit that the government does not know who shot their agents. The remaining documents may contain new evidence that may exonerate Leonard Peltier. These remaining documents must be released to the public without delay.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Signature

Also send a copy of your correspondence to each of the following members of Congress.

Honorable John Conyers, Jr., Chairman

Committee on the Judiciary

U.S. House of Representatives
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Honorable Henry A. Waxman, Chairman

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

U.S. House of Representatives

2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515

Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman

Committee on the Judiciary

U.S. Senate

224 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC  20510

Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman, Chairman

Committee on Homeland Security

 and Governmental Affairs

U.S. Senate

340 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC  20510

ALERT! Letters to members of Congress are needed from residents of AK, AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, and WI. FBI Field Offices in these states continue to withhold documents related to the Peltier case. Refer to the below table. Adapt the above sample letter to write to your members of Congress. Refer to the specific field offices in your state and the number of documents being withheld by each office.