|
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
Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman
Committee
on the Judiciary
U.S.
Senate
224
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Leahy:
First, thank you for
protecting and advancing government transparency
through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
As you may recall,
Leonard Peltier is a
prominent Native American activist who is
currently imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary
in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Leonard Peltier was
convicted in connection with the shooting deaths of
two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) on June 26, 1975, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
in South Dakota.
For years, Leonard Peltier's attorneys
have attempted to
secure his files from the FBI under the 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, however, and the FBI almost always
refuses to release documents citing national security
interests. It's difficult to understand what possible
risk to national security exists related to a case the
FBI investigated over 34 years ago.
I urge
you to hold a hearing 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. At this time, the FBI continues to
withhold over 140,000 documents that are known to
exist. These documents may contain new information that
will shed light on this controversial case. These documents
must be released to the public without delay.
Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely,
Signature
Also send
a copies of your correspondence to:
Honorable
John Conyers, Jr., Chairman
Committee on the
Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
2138
Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Honorable
Edolphus “Ed” Towns, Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
2157
Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
 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.
|
Field Office |
No. of Pages
|
|
Alabama |
|
|
Birmingham, AL |
200 |
|
Mobile, AL |
400 |
|
Subtotal |
600 |
|
Alaska |
|
|
Anchorage, AK |
80 |
|
Arizona |
|
|
Phoenix, AZ |
1,268 |
|
Arkansas |
|
|
Little Rock, AR |
200 |
|
California |
|
|
Los Angeles, CA |
2,300 |
|
Sacramento, CA |
2,550 |
|
San Diego, CA |
723 |
|
San Francisco, CA |
3,700 |
|
Subtotal |
9,273 |
|
Colorado |
|
|
Denver, CO |
2,671 |
|
District of Columbia |
|
|
Washington, DC |
1,000 |
|
Florida |
|
|
Miami, FL |
200 |
|
Tampa, FL |
330 |
|
Subtotal |
530 |
|
Georgia |
|
|
Atlanta, GA |
535 |
|
Hawaii |
|
|
Honolulu, HI |
410 |
|
Illinois |
|
|
Chicago, IL |
2,525 |
|
Springfield, IL |
374 |
|
Subtotal |
2,899 |
|
Indiana |
|
|
Indianapolis, IN |
275 |
|
Kentucky |
|
|
Louisville, KY |
20 |
|
Maryland |
|
|
Baltimore, MD |
30 |
|
Massachusetts |
|
|
Boston, MA |
1,088 |
|
Michigan |
|
|
Detroit, MI |
40 |
|
Minnesota |
|
|
Minneapolis, MN |
90,000
Update:
77,149 pages were reviewed; 66,594 pages (in full or in part)
were released; 10,555 pages are still being withheld in their entirety. |
|
Mississippi |
|
|
Jackson, MS |
350 |
|
Missouri |
|
|
Kansas City, MO |
431 |
|
Saint Louis, MO |
2,020 |
|
Subtotal |
2,451 |
|
Nebraska |
|
|
Omaha, NE |
2,861 |
|
Nevada |
|
|
Las Vegas, NV |
954 |
|
New Mexico |
|
|
Albuquerque, NM |
3,550 |
|
New York |
|
|
Albany, NY |
64 |
|
New York, NY |
File
is "missing" |
|
Subtotal |
64+ |
|
North Carolina |
|
|
Charlotte, NC |
50 |
|
Ohio |
|
|
Cincinnati, OH |
19 |
|
Cleveland, OH |
711 |
|
Subtotal |
730 |
|
Oklahoma |
|
|
Oklahoma City, OK |
2,075 |
|
Oregon |
|
|
Portland, OR |
15,264 |
|
Pennsylvania |
|
|
Philadelphia, PA |
465 |
|
Pittsburgh, PA |
400 |
|
Subtotal |
865 |
|
Puerto Rico |
|
|
San Juan, PR |
200 |
|
South Carolina |
|
|
Columbia, SC |
200 |
|
Tennessee |
|
|
Knoxville, TN |
400 |
|
Memphis, TN |
221 |
|
Subtotal |
621 |
|
Texas |
|
|
Dallas, TX |
700 |
|
El Paso, TX |
37 |
|
Houston, TX |
300 |
|
San Antonio, TX |
77 |
|
Subtotal |
1,114 |
|
Utah |
|
|
Salt Lake City, UT |
1,500 |
|
Virginia |
|
|
Norfolk, VA |
400 |
|
Richmond, VA |
82 |
|
Subtotal |
482 |
|
Washington |
|
|
Seattle, WA |
3,200
|
|
Wisconsin |
|
|
Milwaukee, WI |
9,654 |
|
TOTAL |
157,843+ |
 |
The Activist