US government could lie about the existence of records under FOIA rule proposal.

The Justice Department is proposing new Freedom of Information Act rules allowing the government to inform the public that records do not exist even if they do.

The proposal, published in the Federal Registrar for comment, may codify existing practice, as the government has already lied to requesters of public records that relevant documents did not exist. Under normal practice, which seems Orwellian enough, the government may assert that it can neither confirm nor deny that relevant records exist if the matter involves national security.

Under the latest proposal, however, FOIA requesters might not sue to challenge the designation because the government has told them they did not exist, civil rights groups said. Documents may be withheld if they threaten to expose national security and for other privacy reasons, but ultimately the scope of disclosure is subject to a judge’s ruling if the requester sues.

According to Justice Department’s proposal, if the government believes records should be withheld, the government agency to which the request was made “will respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist. ”
http://www.propublica.org/article/government-could-hide-existence-of-records-under-foia-rule-proposal

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/10/feds-embrace-foia-lying/