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Chevron, Lobbying, and Lago Agrio
Did Chevron lobby the State Department regarding the contents of the Ecuador Human Rights Report during the Lago Agrio litigation? Yes. Did the lobbying have an appreciable effect on the content of the report as it relates to Ecuador’s judicial system? Maybe. These are the big-picture conclusions we can draw from the first group of……
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There Will Be No Vaughn Index (For Now)
Letters Blogatory’s FOIA case has hit another delay. Although I previously asked the court to order the State Department to produce a Vaughn index, although the Department didn’t oppose my motion, and although the court ordered the Department to produce an index by August 16, the Department now says it cannot produce the index until……
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FOIA Update: Government Ordered to Produce Vaughn Index
For those of your following my FOIA case, Judge Zobel today ordered the State Department to produce a Vaughn Index within thirty days. This was not a great victory—although the government refused to assent to my motion when I filed it, the government didn’t oppose it. So if all goes according to plan, on August……
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Letters Blogatory FOIA Update: I’ve Filed A Motion Seeking Production Of A Vaughn Index
Those of you who have been following my FOIA suit against the State Department know that so far the whole thing has been an exercise in frustration. I submitted my FOIA request nearly two years ago, and even though I sued the government several months ago, I still have not been told whether any responsive……
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Letters Blogatory’s FOIA Case: The Government’s Answer
The State Department answered my FOIA complaint today. The answer was 30 days late—something I didn’t realize until I took at look at the statute—but who’s counting? Here are my two favorite sentences from the answer: [T]he Department admits that it has interacted several times with Plaintiff but has not to date produced any records……