Trump Filed a FOIA Request. We FOIAed His FOIA.
When the then-former president was under investigation for unlawfully retaining classified documents, he filed a Freedom of Information Act Request with the National Archives for a wide range of records about his case. It wasn’t the first time Trump wielded the public records tool.
US President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order during a tariff announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPAWelcome back to FOIA Files, the April Fool’s Day edition! On Tuesday, April 1, the Trump administration, as part of its ongoing purge of federal workers, decimated the FOIA staffs at three government agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. This is no joke. FOIA offices inside at least six government agencies, including the Department of Education, the US Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have now been shuttered or seen their staffs dramatically reduced. In all, it stands to be a huge loss for government transparency. It’s also ironic. Believe it or not, President Donald Trump has used the FOIA. In fact, I just got a copy of his most recent request. Keep reading to learn more. If you’re not already getting FOIA Files in your inbox, sign up here.
It’s highly unusual for a former president to utilize the Freedom of Information Act. That’s why my ears perked up when, in March 2023, Trump’s then attorney James Trusty told Fox News that the then-former president submitted a FOIA request to the National Archives and Records Administration.