FOIA

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

Park Service Lack of Transparency Created Its Huge FOIA Backlog

by Jeff Ruch | November 18, 2022
The National Park Service is drowning in FOIA requests - the backlog has nearly doubled during the past two years ...

COMMENTARY | Fighting Government Secrecy

by Tim Whitehouse | May 12, 2022
Government agencies are coming up short in their stewardship of environmental information, and that is having real world consequences ...

USGS Nominee Carries Heavy Bio-Safety Baggage

by PEER | May 5, 2022
Whistleblowers Decry Inaction & Reprisal on Wildlife Disease Lab Breaches ...

Foreign Research Vessels Free to Wreak Eco-Havoc

by PEER | April 14, 2022
No Notice, Permits, or Monitoring; Mass Beaching of Rare Whales Probed ...

Webinar | Redact This! FOIA On Your Own Terms

by PEER | April 3, 2022
Coffee Talk Webinar Series, Episode 2: Explore the power and promise of the Freedom of Information Act. Watch the Video ...