Jonathan Corbett Says TSA Allowed To 'Lie' In Documents Requested Under The Freedom Of Information Act

A lawsuit filed by Jonathan Corbett in U.S. District Court in South Florida has been dismissed by a judge who says there is "no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law" regarding information not provided by TSA under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The case began when Corbett refused to submit to preflight screening at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (KFLL) on August 27, 2011. He was removed from the line and denied access to his departure date.

On August 28th, he sent a letter to TSA requesting any records pertaining to the incident under the FOIA, including notes, e-mails, or other correspondence, as well as any audio, video, or other photographic records, according to the court's dismissal order.

TSA sent back redacted information, and claimed there was no video of the event. Names of personnel were omitted. What video footage they admitted to having was determined by the TSA to be protected from release because it contained “security sensitive information,” and that it showed the faces of certain TSA employees.  The TSA determined that those individuals had a privacy interest in their personal identifying information because “its disclosure could expose them to unnecessary unofficial questioning, harassment, and stigmatization.”

Federal Judge Joan Lenard determined that the agency acted properly in providing partial information under the FOIA. She dismissed the suit and closed the case.

On his blog, Corbett says that the judgment essentially says that TSA and other government agencies are allowed to lie on documents requested under FOIA. He says Judge Lenard rubber-stamped the decision of the TSA and the airport authority “to write to me that no CCTV footage of the incident existed when, in fact, it did," he writes. "This footage is non-classified and its existence is admitted by over a dozen visible camera domes and even signage that the area is being recorded. Beyond that, the TSA regularly releases checkpoint video when it doesn’t show them doing something wrong. But if it shows evidence of misconduct? Just go ahead and lie."

Corbett plans to appeal the decision, and is soliciting donations from the readers of his blog to help fund that appeal.

FMI: Judge Lenard's Decision,  Blog Post