Categories: OLD Media Moves

FDIC refuses FOI requests on officer travel

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which regulates financial activities and takes control of failed banks, is refusing to disclose the travel records of its top officers after they were requested through the Freedom of Information Act, reports Russell Carollo of JunketSleuth.com.

Carollo writes, “Last November, JunketSleuth filed a separate request for documents related to travel by the agency’s chairman, vice chairman and director. We also sought information for the Comptroller of the Currency and the director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, both of whom serve on the FDIC’s board.

“JunketSleuth filed the requests under the federal Freedom of Information Act, which allows public access to government records that do not fall under one of several exemptions. That list includes exemptions that protect personal privacy, national security, active law enforcement investigations and confidential business information.

“With the exception of Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, frequent flyer numbers and other personal details, the vast majority of travel information requested by JunketSleuth is public.

“But the FDIC repeatedly refused to provide any information on travel by its employees, claiming, among other things, that it has no central database, that Junketsleuth’s requests were too broad and that even if they had the information, the public wouldn’t have a right to see it.”