Document of the Day

Document of the Day: Indictment for University Admission Payoffs

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In a sweeping set of charges, federal officials announced “the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.” Dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues” by the FBI, prosecutors used RICO — federal anti-racketeering laws — to allege that some 50 people conspired to cheat on standardized tests or bribe coaches and other school officials to accept students into elite colleges. At the alleged center of the conspiracy: a for-profit college prep agency and an associated nonprofit foundation.

CryptoKids

MuckRock’s Brown on FOIA as Journalism’s Flashlight

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FOIA is the solar-powered flashlight of the journalism world — it offers direct access to primary source material which sometimes leads to a big scoop. MuckRock executive editor JPat Brown shares the compelling, and sometimes hilarious, stories that results from MuckRock’s FOIA requests.

Communism

The FBI’s Obsessive Inquiry Into Edward R. Murrow

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During the height of the “Red Scare,” the FBI built an elaborate case alleging America’s favorite newsman was a Communist. MuckRock sifted through 700 pages of Bureau documents that tracked Murrow’s acquaintances, movements and alleged involvement with Communist-front organizations.

Allen Ginsberg

Writers Under Surveillance: Hunter S Thompson’s FBI Files

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The power of the pen — writers are so dangerous that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation deemed it necessary to start surveillance on many of them, including Hannah Arendt, Allen Ginsberg, Ernest Hemingway, Susan Sontag, and Hunter S Thompson. The book “Writers Under Surveillance” gathers some of these investigation files that were obtained with Freedom of Information Act requests by MuckRock.

FBI

A Funny Thing Happened on Our Way to FOIA

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After nine years and over 60,000 requests, MuckRock — the Massachusetts-based news site that specializes in using the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) — has been witness to some pretty impressive efforts to keep public information from the public. In the spirit of Sunshine Week, they compiled some of the weirdest, wildest and downright hilarious redactions they’ve received since launching in 2010.

FBI

Document of the Day: Beginner’s Guide to Requesting an FBI File

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How can a journalist request Federal Bureau of Investigation’s files on an individual? MuckRock’s JPat Brown prepared a useful step-by-step flowchart guide for all scenarios to help you make sure you’ve gathered all the materials you need before you file that FOIA.