Washington, DC — The federal agency charged with seeking discipline for federal officials who wrongfully withhold records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has found no instance of ever using this authority, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result, federal officials continue to knowingly claim that documents do not exist or misrepresent their contents to keep them from the public without any legal consequences.

FOIA is the primary law that lets Americans — including journalists, researchers, community groups, businesses, advocacy organizations, or just curious citizens — obtain documents from federal agencies to find out what their government is doing. It is one of the most important tools citizens have for holding government accountable.

The law gives the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) authority to investigate instances where government employees wrongfully withhold documents under FOIA and to pursue disciplinary action against those responsible. Yet, when PEER filed a FOIA request for the number of such investigations, OSC found no responsive documents — indicating that OSC has never used its FOIA oversight authority since the agency was established in 1979.

Alternately, a federal judge adjudicating a FOIA lawsuit can direct OSC to “promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against the officer or employee who was primarily responsible for” the wrongful withholding. In that instance, the agency employing the official “shall take the corrective action that the Special Counsel recommends.” OSC confirmed, in response to a separate PEER FOIA response, that it has never invoked this authority.

“Compliance with the Freedom of Information Act is essentially unpoliced,” said PEER Senior Counsel Aaron Lloyd, an attorney formerly with OSC for 10 years. “As a result, officials can falsely deny the existence of documents or mischaracterize their nature without fear of negative career consequences — making this a ‘no harm, no foul’ offense.”

A 2024 Government Accountability Office report found that the backlog of unanswered FOIA requests is steadily growing, and conditions have almost certainly worsened since that report. Staff positions dedicated to answering have been cut significantly during the second Trump administration, and the U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees agency FOIA compliance, has become markedly more politicized since early 2025.

“Without a functioning FOIA process, properly policed under OSC’s authorities, corruption in the federal government will likely grow and continue to rot away the system of checks and balances our federal system was meant to have in place,” said PEER General Counsel Joanna Citron Day.

“Without proper oversight and enforcement, FOIA is on a pathway to becoming a statutory dead letter,” added Lloyd. “Bringing real scrutiny to the agencies responsible for handling FOIA requests must be a top priority for the new Congress. Otherwise, this once powerful transparency tool known for holding government accountable to the people will become a law in name only.”

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Look at OSC admissions that it has no records of a single investigation

See example of wrongful withholding

Examine GAO report on growing FOIA backlogs

PEER protects public employees who protect our environment, natural resources, and public health. We support current and former environmental and public health professionals, land managers, scientists, enforcement officers, and other civil servants dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values across federal, state, local, and tribal governments.