NRO and the Freedom of Information Act
Definition of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The FOIA generally provides that any person has
a right, enforceable in court, of access to federal
agency records, except to the extent that such
records (or portions thereof) are protected from
disclosure by one of nine exemptions.
View the FOIA
Handbook [ PDF ] [ Word Doc ]
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NRO and the FOIA
The goal of the FOIA office at NRO is to release
as much information as possible, consistent with
the need to protect information under the exemption
provisions of the law. Where discretionary releases
can be made without causing harm, the Chief Information
Access and Release Team, as the initial denial
authority, and the NRO Principal Deputy Director, as the
appeal authority, use their discretion to release
information even where an exemption may be available.
The FOIA exemptions used by NRO to protect information
are exemptions one through seven. The eighth and
ninth exemptions do not pertain to the missions
and functions of NRO.
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Because of the sensitivity of NRO's functions
and activities, the most often cited exemptions
are (b)(1) (national security information) and
(b)(3) (exemption by statute)
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