WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - June 01, 2015) - Judicial Watch has announced that its president, Tom Fitton, will provide testimony on June 2 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing entitled "Ensuring Transparency through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)." The committee is chaired by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). The hearing will examine current barriers to accessing public documents under FOIA, including delays, administrative backlogs and excessive redactions. Judicial Watch is the nation's preeminent watchdog group and has filed over 3,000 FOIA requests with the Obama administration. The nonpartisan group has filed nearly 225 FOIA lawsuits against the Obama administration, leading to major revelations in the Benghazi, IRS, and Clinton financial scandals.
The revelations that Hillary Clinton used secret email accounts to conduct official government business while secretary of state has further highlighted the importance of addressing the issue of the Obama administration's FOIA compliance. Fitton's testimony will address the Hillary Clinton email scandal and highlight the "transparency crisis" in Washington, D.C.
In Fiscal Year 2014, the administration processed 31,000 fewer FOIA requests and presided over a 67 percent increase in backlogged requests compared to FY 2013 -- despite spending $461 million complying with the federal disclosure law.
Date: Tuesday, June 2
Time: 2 pm ET
Location: Rayburn HOB Room 2154