Attorney general issues FOIA memo.

• Position: GOVERNMENT RECORDS - Brief article

Attorney General Eric older has released guidelines for U.S. agencies on how to apply the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that may open the floodgates for the release of more government records.

The memo calls for greater transparency, stating the Obama administration will not support the withholding of information. According to the memo, Holder said the U.S. Justice Department will defend FOIA refusals only if the agency reasonably foresees the disclosure would harm an interest protected by one of the statutory exemptions or when disclosure, is prohibited by law.

Holder's memo rescinds a 2001 order by former Attorney General John Ashcroft and is a marked reversal from the Bush administration, which advocated withholding information if there was a sound legal argument for doing so. In December 2007, Congress moved to amend this policy, passing legislation...