A group of government transparency advocates has asked the Supreme Court of the United States to pause the Trump administration’s rules that limit the public’s ability to make Freedom of Information Act requests about White House social media messages.
The petition, filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and several other government transparency advocates, seeks a stay of the Department of Justice’s opinion on July 11 that prohibits the public from making FOIA requests for White House social media messages sent out by President Donald Trump and White House staff.
The petition argues that the DOJ’s opinion is unconstitutional because it creates an “unprecedented exception” to FOIA, which was created to “enable the public to know what the government is up to.” It also argues that there is no reason for the White House to be exempt from scrutiny and that if the court allows the DOJ’s opinion to stand, it could create a dangerous precedent that would allow the executive branch to selectively censor documents from the public.
Finally, the petition argues that there is a strong public interest in making sure President Trump and the White House are held to the same standards as other public offices when it comes to transparency.
If the Supreme Court agrees to take up the petitioners’ request, they will likely hear oral arguments in the fall.
