A conservative transparency group filed a lawsuit Monday, accusing the FBI of systematically violating federal law by blocking access to public records, a problem the group says has persisted for years across administrations despite President Donald Trump’s pledge to lead the “most transparent” government in history.
The Oversight Project, a nonprofit group formerly affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, filed the complaint in Washington, D.C. federal court, seeking to compel the FBI to fix what it calls a “pattern and practice” of stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests. The group says the FBI has long used bureaucratic tricks, blanket denials, and unlawful “Glomar” responses — refusing to confirm or deny the existence of records — to conceal politically sensitive information from the public.
“The FBI’s FOIA process is broken,” said Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project. “We can’t rely on [FBI Director Kash Patel] finding documents in burn bags and closets for lasting transparency. The FBI will be back in the wrong hands one day, and we need true systemic reform before that.”
Howell, whose group drew national attention to former President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen following his departure from the presidency, said the lawsuit is about consistency and accountability, not a dig at the Trump administration. His organization sued the FBI more than a dozen times in recent years over alleged stonewalling on issues ranging from Russiagate to the Mar-a-Lago raid. Those experiences, Howell said, revealed a “deeply entrenched culture” of secrecy inside the bureau that has outlasted multiple directors and political eras.
“Any reporter, left or right, who has ever submitted a FOIA to the FBI can tell you this is the case,” Howell wrote Monday in an op-ed for Blaze Media. “We’re just the first ones to try to do something about it.”
The lawsuit cites instances where the FBI “administratively closed” records requests without explanation or required consultation, violating 28 CFR § 16.3(b). The Oversight Project contends their requests were meticulously crafted — naming specific agents and time frames — but were still categorically rejected.
Kyle Brosnan, the group’s vice president of legal, said the bureau’s FOIA office has grown “untethered from accountability,” despite Trump’s public commitment to transparency under Patel.
“The deep state that’s running the FOIA shop is not aligning with the transparency of the administration,” Brosnan said.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to overhaul the FBI’s FOIA process, which could lead to the release of withheld documents tied to some of the bureau’s most controversial actions, including the Russiagate investigation, the Mar-a-Lago search, Operation Arctic Frost, and the targeting of parents at school board meetings.
The lawsuit comes as Arctic Frost — a Biden-era counterintelligence effort that served as the foundation for the criminal cases against Trump — has drawn new attention from Trump himself.
In a Friday Truth Social post, the president accused former Biden-era officials, including former special counsel Jack Smith, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, former FBI Director Christopher Wray, and former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, of authorizing the operation.
“Documents show conclusively that Christopher Wray, Deranged Jack Smith, Merrick Garland, Lisa Monaco, and other crooked lowlifes from the failed Biden Administration, signed off on Operation Arctic Frost,” Trump wrote. “They spied on Senators and Congressmen/women, and even taped their calls.”
Howell said Oversight Project’s FOIA requests targeting information related to Arctic Frost have been stonewalled for months.
“There isn’t enough of Director Patel, and there certainly aren’t enough closets at the FBI to make that a sustainable strategy,” Howell said. “The FBI will also never be able to fully investigate itself. Selective transparency is always going to be problematic.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the FBI and DOJ for a response.
