Navy accidentally sends FOIA memo to reporter
NBC 4 reporter Scott MacFarlane tweeted a screenshot of the memo, which seems to outline a plan to sidestep his request. The Navy eventually apologized.
EPIC FAILURE- U.S. Navy accidentally sends reporter its strategy memo for dodging his FOIA request cc: @gregorykorte pic.twitter.com/aKno0qKK6h
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 7, 2014
The memo states that someone named Josh can help describe MacFarlane’s request as a “fishing expedition.” It also states, “just because they are they media doesn’t mean that the memos would shed light on specific government activities.” MacFarlane told Politico that he specifically requested “memos authored by various Naval Sea Systems Command officials in September, October, and November 2013, emails sent by those same officials between 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. on the day of the shooting, and photos of Building 197, where the shooting occurred, that were not part of the investigation.” Officials in the Navy’s FOIA office first told Politico that sending the memo to MacFarlane was an “administrative error,” then they said they couldn’t comment on the document’s veracity.
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