Adam A. Marshall

If DHS's own AI #FOIA chatbot drafts a request, must the agency process it without complaint? 🤔

There are some good uses for AI in FOIA. This is not a good one. DHS's own chatbot recommends asking for "all records . . . related to . . ." which the government constantly argues is too broad

a still from body cam footage from 3/17/25 that i obtained through a lawsuit. shows an MPD officer taking a cookie from the reception desk at the US institute of peace building with the USIP sign visible in the background during the DOGE raid on the building.

portrait of the second trump administration

MPD body cam footage from DOGE raid on US Institute of Peace RECEIVED 😎

I'll be watching and sharing news and takeaways in the coming days. Stay tuned!

911 calls capture kids burning with fever, struggling to breathe at ICE detention center EMS crews were called to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas at least 11 times since September for children in medical distress, records show.

NEW: We obtained 911 audio from the Texas detention center housing hundreds of immigrant kids and their parents.

Since mid-September, EMS crews have been dispatched to Dilley at least 11 times to treat children in medical distress.

Burning fevers. Low oxygen. Seizures. A broken leg.

My report:

Work with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Check out the full-time jobs, fellowships and internships available at the Reporters Committee.

🚨 We're hiring two positions to expand @rcfp.org's Local Legal Initiative, which provides journalists free legal services to pursue investigative stories in their communities.

➡️ Minnesota LLI attorney
➡️ LLI staff attorney

View the positions and apply:

Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump.

An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump. n.pr/4qTItsU

404 Media found multiple users of Zello, an app previously used by Jan. 6 insurrectionists, linked to ICE officials. An officer at the scene of an CBP official shooting a US citizen also used the app. @evystadium.bsky.social has more.

Scoop by @josephcox.bsky.social: www.404media.co/how-ice-and-...

Our reaction to Judge Cannon's order "permanently" barring the release of Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago report. knightcolumbia.org/content/judg...

Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal A Guardian analysis finds the vast majority of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time from January to August last year had no criminal convictions

The Trump admin claims they have been arresting the worst of the worst. But the Guardian, working with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sued the govt for docs that show that isn't true.

77% of people who entered deportation proceedings in 2025 had no criminal conviction

My latest:

In a note embedded on top of an FAQ question, “What is the average length of stay for the aliens?” Tim Kaiser, the deputy chief of staff for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, asked David Venturella, a former GEO Group executive whom The Washington Post described as an adviser overseeing an ICE division that manages detention center contracts, to “Please confirm” that the average stay for the new mega detention centers would be 60 days. Venturella replied in a note that remained visible on the published document, “Ideally, I'd like to see a 30-day average for the Mega Center but 60 is fine.”

NEW: DHS left embedded comments in a PDF outlining its plans to warehouse immigrants, identifying the architects and laying bare the gross extent of its regulatory capture. Great scoop by @regret.bsky.social:

www.wired.com/story/metada...

me and my RCFP lawyers outside the courthouse this morning

BREAKING — WE WON! DC Superior Court Judge Darlene Soltys ordered the DC Metropolitan Police to produce ALL body cam footage of the March 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace within 14 days.

Thanks to my @rcfp.org lawyers for their tireless work.

Details on thehandbasket.co later today!

Fwiw I really enjoy it! As you say, the trial will give you enough info to evaluate it.

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025...

Kagi

RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work The book, called “Cause Unknown,” was co-published by an anti-vaccine group led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now running for president.

When Kennedy was running for president in 2023, @aliswenson.bsky.social and I wrote about his trip to Samoa and the impact his work has had on people in the US and abroad. Our reporting then prompted my FOIA to the state department. We now have some of the records I asked for thanks to @rcfp.org

Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak Kennedy later said the purpose of his trip had nothing to do with vaccines. US embassy and UN staff at the time said otherwise, emails show

I filed an open records request with the US State Department for these records in 2023. We were still waiting for them last year, and @rcfp.org sued on our behalf. Thank you to the Reporters Committee for helping us shine a light
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak Kennedy later said the purpose of his trip had nothing to do with vaccines. US embassy and UN staff at the time said otherwise, emails show

RFK Jr said during his Senate confirmation hearings that his trip to Samoa in 2019 ahead of a devastating measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines." Documents obtained by @us.theguardian.com and @apnews.com undermine that testimony. Details here, by me and @aliswenson.bsky.social ⬇️

Proud of the #FOIA team at @rcfp.org that pried these records lose!

The DOJ Redacted a Photo of the Mona Lisa in the Epstein Files While Epstein’s victims endure the fallout of their photos and names being exposed in the Department of Justice’s latest tranche of files, investigators redacted the identity of the most famous portra...

cool. glad we protected her identity at least www.404media.co/the-doj-reda...

Important reporting here from @charliesavage.bsky.social ⬇️

U.S. Failed to Alert Judge to Press Law in Application to Search Reporter’s Home

As a result of @rcfp.org's unsealing, we now know that DOJ "failed to tell a magistrate judge about a 1980 law protecting journalists in its application materials for a warrant to search a Washington Post reporter’s home last month as part of a leak investigation"

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

UPDATE: the court has ordered the government to respond to @rcfp.org's unsealing application by tomorrow (Jan 28). A hearing is set for Feb 4. Docket here: www.courtlistener.com/docket/72146...

Documents prove the Trump administration arrested students for criticizing Israel Newly unsealed court records illustrate how the US government specifically targeted students for pro-Palestine speech.

NEW: Mother Jones and other outlets fought to unseal documents that show that the Trump administration targeted students for Pro-Palestinian speech. We won.

A major shoutout to our brilliant attorneys at @rcfp.org and Klaris Law! Thank you for all your help. 🙏

This morning, @rcfp.org asked EDVA to expedite briefing in our unsealing application so that the public can see the government's affidavit before the Rule 41(g) hearing in early February. Filings here: www.rcfp.org/litigation/i...

RCFP urges court to order return of Washington Post reporter’s electronic devices These sweeping seizures of a journalist’s records violate the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and the Privacy Protection Act.

NEW: @rcfp.org is urging a federal court to order the government to return electronic devices taken from @washingtonpost.com reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, arguing that the seizures are unlawful.

Judge blocks government from searching data seized from Post reporter The Post demanded in a court filing Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials return electronic devices the government seized from a staff reporter’s home.

Breaking news: Government officials may not examine electronic devices seized from Post reporter Hannah Natanson until litigation stemming from the search of her home is settled, a federal judge ruled.

In brief supporting NYT’s lawsuit, RCFP urges federal court to reject Pentagon’s media access policy “This case is another line in the sand when it comes to a free press,” said RCFP Vice President of Policy Gabe Rottman.

NEW: In a friend-of-the-court brief, @rcfp.org urged a federal court to reject the Pentagon’s new press access policy and supported @nytimes.com's lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

There’s no obvious reason why the search warrant & affidavits should be categorically withheld, and there are lots of reasons to be skeptical that the search was consistent with constitutional, statutory, and regulatory limits. Glad to see this motion from @rcfp.org medialaw.org/wp-content/u...

RCFP seeks to unseal court records related to FBI search of Washington Post reporter’s home “The government cannot justify wholesale secrecy here, where the public’s ability to understand a search with serious consequences for a free press is at stake.”

News:

Last night, @rcfp.org filed a motion in EDVA to unseal records related to the WaPo reporter warrant.

Currently all of the judicial records are sealed, including the affidavit purporting to justify the government’s actions.

Read our application here: www.rcfp.org/fbi-raid-was...