This Freedom of Information Act case, filed in January 2010, initially sought the report of the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility concerning the roles John Yoo and Jay Bybee of the Office of Legal Counsel had played in crafting and authorizing the Bush administration’s “enhanced interrogation” policies. At the time of our suit, Yoo had returned to his position as a law professor, and Bybee had been appointed as a federal appellate judge by President Bush. After we filed suit, the DOJ released a redacted report and we amended our complaint to seek access to some of the redacted content.
In February 2011, the court granted the government’s motion for summary judgment, finding that DOJ had “made redactions according to specific allowable exemptions under FOIA.” The court rejected our argument that many of the redactions were improper cover-ups of illegal conduct, reasoning that illegal activities can produce properly classified documents. We did not appeal.
