State Dept. stonewalls request for lobbying, contractor documents

[Valin]

Washington Examiner:

Sarah Westwood

July 3, 2015

 

 

(Screenshot of Citizens United home page)

 

 

 

A conservative watchdog group sued the State Department Wednesday over records related to a pair of security contracts awarded by the agency under Hillary Clinton's watch.

 

Citizens United first sought documentation of talks between State officials, a lobbying firm called DLA Piper and a security contractor called Triple Canopy through a Freedom of Information Act request filed in August 2014. The group sued the State Department after the agency ignored its FOIA request for 10 months. Citizens United had previously worked with State to narrow the scope of its inquiry, to no avail.

 

 

David Bossie, president of Citizens United, noted the group's interest in the arrangement is less about the substance of the security contracts and more about the cozy relationships that might have helped Triple Canopy obtain them. "Like a lot of people, we are running down leads and trying to conduct our own investigation, and this is part of that process," Bossie said.

 

The Triple Canopy case is one of several FOIA lawsuits that Citizens United has filed as it prepares production of a sequel to its 2008 documentary, "Hillary: The Movie." "There's a lot of smoke here," Bossie said. "The State Department has not been forthcoming."

 

(Snip)