NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Documents I obtained via #FOIA offer a glimpse into the months-long effort to put Trump's signature on US currency and the resulting tension inside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

NEW FBI docs released via FOIA show DOJ had a "Document Flag List” when it began reviewing Epstein files last year. There are 16 entries that are simply marked "POTUS"

Jason Leopold@jasonleopold.bsky.social · last wk.

NEW FOIA Files EXCLUSIVE: Internal FBI documents shed new light on the government’s review of the Jeffrey Epstein files and reveal efforts by the former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson to connect a British socialite with FBI Director Kash Patel 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

NEW FOIA Files EXCLUSIVE: Internal FBI documents shed new light on the government’s review of the Jeffrey Epstein files and reveal efforts by the former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson to connect a British socialite with FBI Director Kash Patel 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

If the name Opexus rings a bell, you may remember this @jasonleopold.bsky.social story from last year

Hack of Contractor Was at Root of Massive Federal Data Breach

Failures in cybersecurity practices at a software company that helps federal agencies manage investigations and FOIA requests allowed two convicted hackers to delete databases, according to internal d...

bloomberg.com

The OPM FOIA portal was down for so long, I opened a support ticket with the vendor, Opexus (a company that has over $50 million in federal contracts). Thirteen days later, they fixed the bug.

Is There Anyone Who Can Respond to My FOIA Requests? Anyone?

Asking the federal government for public records didn’t always feel like a shell game. But bounced emails and broken portals seem like the new normal.

propublica.org

I'm hoping to add a bunch of new subscribers to my FREE @business newsletter, FOIA Files, this weekend! If you want to know what the government is up to, what's taking behind the scenes at dozens of executive branch agencies, how your taxpayer dollars is being spent PLEASE SIGN UP! 1/

Jason Leopold@jasonleopold.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Here are 149 pages of documents I requested from DOJ about the Trump banners hung at the agency's HQ. The docs reveal ethics questions, security oddities and a big price tag behind the festooning of Washington. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Here are 149 pages of documents I requested from DOJ about the Trump banners hung at the agency's HQ. The docs reveal ethics questions, security oddities and a big price tag behind the festooning of Washington. www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Inside DOJ’s Trump Banner and ‘Beautification’ Project

Documents obtained by FOIA Files reveal ethics questions, security oddities and a big price tag behind the festooning of Washington.

bloomberg.com

If you read only one story today, please make it this one. Paywall is lifted. So is the registration wall. By Olivia Carville for @bloomberg.com @businessweek.bsky.social

TikTok Withheld a Safety Feature From Millions. One Died by Suicide

A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement.

bloomberg.com

BOMBSHELL story by Olivia Carville @bloomberg.com Internal Report Shows TikTok Kept Safety Feature From Millions A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement NO PAYWALL www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

TikTok Withheld a Safety Feature From Millions. One Died by Suicide

A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement.

bloomberg.com

Bombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:

Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says

Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...

bloomberg.com

NEW/EXCLUSIVE: Deutsche Bank failed to promptly report to US authorities more than $250M in suspicious transactions tied to Epstein, including funds used to pay women in Russia & other Eastern European countries, according to a new report from @wyden.senate.gov 🎁 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says

Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...

bloomberg.com

NEW #FOIA artwork, courtesy of DHS

EXCLUSIVE from Anthony Cormier & team at @bloomberg.com: How Tether Benefited as Trump Insiders Howard Lutnick and Bo Hines Shaped First US Crypto Law 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

How Tether Benefited as Trump Insiders Shaped First US Crypto Law

When he was Tether’s banker, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ‘managed to kill’ less favorable legislation, a court filing says. And a White House aide pushed a measure Tether wanted, observers sa...

bloomberg.com

The judges for FPF's Penlight Prize for excellence in paywall-free public records reporting are: - @katidoyle.bsky.social, @nsarchive.bsky.social - @jameeljaffer.bsky.social, @knightcolumbia.org - @jasonleopold.bsky.social, @bloomberg.com Award: $25,000 Submission deadline: Sept. 1 Apply ⬇️

The Penlight Prize ∙ Freedom of the Press Foundation

The Penlight Prize honors exemplary paywall-free public records reporting, from Freedom of the Press Foundation

penlightprize.org

📢 Are you a journalist who uses FOIA or other public records laws in your reporting? You could win $25K with our new journalism award, the Penlight Prize. Submission deadline: Sept. 1, 2026 Read more and apply today:

New $25K ‘Penlight’ journalism award honors paywall-free FOIA reporting

The Penlight Prize celebrates paywall-free reporting based on records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act or state public records laws.

freedom.press

🔎📄 I'm honored to be one of the judges for the @freedom.press Foundation's inaugural Penlight Prize for excellence in paywall-free public records reporting. There is a $25,000 cash prize! Submit your entries! Deadline is Sept 1. #FOIA

Freedom of the Press Foundation@freedom.press · last mo.

📢 Are you a journalist who uses FOIA or other public records laws in your reporting? You could win $25K with our new journalism award, the Penlight Prize. Submission deadline: Sept. 1, 2026 Read more and apply today:

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! The FBI Files Behind ‘The Real Wolf of Wall Street’ 1000s of FBI docs I obtained via #FOIA tell the story of the investigation into Jordan Belfort & Stratton Oakmont, which inspired the new docuseries I exec produced & appear in www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! The Memo That Killed the Penny Previously undisclosed documents obtained by FOIA Files reveal how the Trump administration found a way to halt penny production and why officials considered the decision “critical.” www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

The Memo That Killed the Penny

Previously undisclosed documents obtained by FOIA Files reveal how the Trump administration found a way to halt penny production and why officials considered the decision “critical.”

bloomberg.com

BIG EXCLUSIVE by my @bloomberg.com colleague Olivia Carville: At 17, She Sued Meta & Google, and Won. Now She’s Ready to Tell Her Story Kaley Glenn-Mills’ lawsuit reshaped the fight to protect children from social media. She says she still can’t stop scrolling 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

At 17, She Sued Meta and Google, and Won. Now She’s Ready to Tell Her Story

Kaley Glenn-Mills’ lawsuit reshaped the fight to protect children from social media. She says she still can’t stop scrolling.

bloomberg.com

Happy 60th birthday to the #FOIA, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on this day in 1966! Subscribe to FOIA Files! It's FREE! bloomberg.com/foiafiles

NEW #FOIA artwork, courtesy of DHS

Documenting DOGE’s work across the executive branch through the #FOIA will take years. Not deterred, I submitted FOIA requests for a wide range of records, fully expecting a long wait. Some of my requests have are now beginning to chip away at some of the secrecy.

Jason Leopold@jasonleopold.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Internal SEC Emails Reveal Growing Concern Over DOGE’s Reach The emails I obtained provide a peek behind the scenes as DOGE entered the SEC last year and sparked fears among employees about the group’s access to data www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! Internal SEC Emails Reveal Growing Concern Over DOGE’s Reach The emails I obtained provide a peek behind the scenes as DOGE entered the SEC last year and sparked fears among employees about the group’s access to data www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

NEW #FOIA artwork courtesy of the Small Business Administration.

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! SEC report I obtained via #FOIA: ‘Golf is Great on the Taxpayer’s Dime’ www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Congratulations to @emma.best and @ddosecrets.org for continuing to do the crucial work in the public interest! @bloomberg.com's award-winning Zombie Debt series would not have come together without Emma and DDoS contributions 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

How Debt Collectors Spin Riches from Zombie Loans

Bloomberg News obtained a trove of internal records from one debt collector that reveals how the industry uses large bills and threats of foreclosure to blindside homeowners across the US.

bloomberg.com

emma best 🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️🏳️‍⚧️ Mxy@emma.best · 3mo ago

Apparently @ddosecrets.org's work won some Emmys (and other awards) emma.best/2026/06/02/a...

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! In the Jan. 31, 2025 edition of FOIA Files, I published internal docs I obtained from the Treasury Dept OIG in response to my FOIA lawsuit. 1/

New #FOIA artwork from NARA

NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out! I obtained more than 100 pages of docs from the National Capital Planning Commission that detail what unfolded behind the scenes at the commission & WH in the lead up to Trump's plan to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

A few years ago, I discovered that during Donald Trump's first presidential term he peppered the IRS with #FOIA requests in an attempt to delay the agency from turning over his tax filings to a congressional committee. I FOIA'd Trump's FOIAs to the IRS www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Used Records Requests to Hinder IRS Release of His Tax Returns

Donald Trump demanded reams of information from the Internal Revenue Service as it was preparing to turn over his personal tax returns to a congressional committee, papering the agency with a deluge o...

bloomberg.com