Jason Leopold
@jasonleopold
Investigative Reporter, Bloomberg News. "FOIA terrorist." Subscribe to my newsletter, FOIA Files and my FOIA podcast, Disclosure. Signal: JasonLeopold.666
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! The FBI Files Behind ‘The Real Wolf of Wall Street’ 1000s of FBI docs I obtained via #FOIA tell the story of the investigation into Jordan Belfort & Stratton Oakmont, which inspired the new docuseries I exec produced & appear in www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Other emails describe the SEC’s Reduction in Force plans and a March 28, 2025 staffwide email sent to personnel advising them how to treat DOGE’s requests for data.
About a month later, Peter Gimbrere, the SEC’s managing executive who worked in the Office of the Chairman, sent an email to Eliezer Mishory, the head of the DOGE team at the agency. Mishory left his job as chief regulatory officer and general counsel at Kalshi to work for DOGE
The first email that caught my eye is one dated Feb. 23, 2025 to SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda and commissioners Hester Peirce and Caroline Crenshaw. A person who said they worked for the agency sent an anonymous email from a Proton Mail account, which allows users to send encrypted communications.
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Internal SEC Emails Reveal Growing Concern Over DOGE’s Reach The emails I obtained provide a peek behind the scenes as DOGE entered the SEC last year and sparked fears among employees about the group’s access to data www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! SEC report I obtained via #FOIA: ‘Golf is Great on the Taxpayer’s Dime’ www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Well, that’s not the end of the story. The Treasury Dept sent me ***additional documents that shed even more light on the breach.*** You can check out the full set of documents here at this link assets.bwbx.io/documents/us...
After the plans were submitted, NCPC received a barrage of criticism. The commission received more than 2K comments, the overwhelming majority of which were negative. Some of the comments have not been publicly released, such as this from the DC State Historic Preservation Office. They are brutal
In April, Martin formally submitted an application to NCPC for the Eisenhower “Exterior Beautification Project.” I obtained a copy.
Martin also asked Sullivan if a “preliminary/final” review schedule could be moved to April 2, given that the project centers on whether to paint or not to paint the building. Sullivan responded with a review schedule.
In response, Diane Sullivan, the NCPC’s director of urban design and plan review, explained that it’s usually “very difficult to submit a project for two consecutive month reviews.” Nevertheless, she provided guidance on how it could be done.
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! I obtained more than 100 pages of docs from the National Capital Planning Commission that detail what unfolded behind the scenes at the commission & WH in the lead up to Trump's plan to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Woo hoo! My newsletter, FOIA Files, won a National Magazine Award earlier this week! Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, shared and supported my FOIA work! asme.memberclicks.net/asme-announc...
A couple of weeks ago, DOJ released an index that explains the legal exemptions the government is relying on to redact or withhold portions of records and the exemptions that are applicable under the #FOIA
Thank you @ewscrippsco.bsky.social for honoring my years of transparency work at @bloomberg.com with the award for Distinguished Service To The First Amendment! Incredibly appreciative! scripps.com/fund/news/sc...
The emails I obtained, which have been partially redacted, reference a “document,” the title of which was blacked out, that sparked ODNI’s aggressive response. The emails further undercuts the Trump administration’s pronouncement that it’s “the most transparent administration in American history.”
Around the same time, according to the batch of emails I just received, top officials at ODNI began directing subordinates to dismantle the agency’s FOIA webpage. They “scrubbed” scores of previously released intelligence-related documents on a wide range of topics and other FOIA-related material
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Check out these crazy emails I obtained! Last May, ODNI took down its #FOIA page and removed hundreds of documents from its FOIA reading room released over the years in response to FOIA requests 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Hell yeah! ✊ And right back atcha! Oh we're so pretty Oh so pretty We're vexxxatious (sung to the tune of Pretty Vacant by the Sex Pistols)
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! In Feb 2025, Russ Vought, CFPB's acting director, announced a tipline to encourage companies to report CFPB enforcement/supervision staff who violated a work stoppage order. I filed a #FOIA request for a few days’ worth of tips. Let’s just say they weren't credible
The FBI documents also reveal the number of classified documents NARA discovered. It goes on to explain the type of classified records NARA found and the level of classification.
When NARA finally retrieved 15 boxes in 2022, archivists found highly classified records commingled w/other records. NARA then sent a criminal referral to DOJ, which led to a DOJ & FBI investigation, as the docs I just obtained from the bureau in response to my long-running #FOIA lawsuit make clear.
The agency’s lawyers spent more than a year trying to retrieve the documents, which included a letter to Trump from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a letter Obama left for Trump.
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! On April 1, the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel publicly released a bombshell 52-page opinion. It said that the Presidential Records Act is “unconstitutional” and that Trump “need not further comply with its dictates.” 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...