AAN and 32 other media organizations have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to uphold the judiciary’s authority to review federal agency classification decisions when considering appeals to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) denials:

The case began when an environmental organization used FOIA to obtain records regarding trade negotiations between the United States and 33 countries. The government withheld one document under Exemption 1, arguing that its release would harm national security and foreign policy interests.

After the trial court ordered the release of the document, the government appealed arguing, in part, that the district court exceeded its authority and cannot second-guess the Executive Branch on classification decisions regarding national security or foreign policy records.