Withholds Foreign Agent Data; Says Computer is Fragile

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jim Warren <jwarren () well com>
Date: June 28, 2004 7:13:27 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber: ;"Peter Neumann, SRI" <neumann () csl sri com>
Subject: fwd: [FOI-L] DOJ Withholds Foreign Agent Data; Says Computer 
is Fragile

At 5:40 PM -0400 6/28/04, Michael Ravnitzky <mikerav () mindspring com> 
posted to FOI-L:

> Justice Department Denies Access to Data, Saying Their Computer is Too 
> Fragile!
>
> You have gotta read the complete article, which is posted here:
>
> http://www.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?aid=332&sid=100
>
> Foreign Lobbyist Database Could Vanish
> Justice Department claims merely copying its foreign agents database 
> could destroy it
>
> By Kevin Bogardus
>
> WASHINGTON, June 28, 2004 - Justice Department officials say a huge 
> database that serves as the public's lone window on lobbying 
> activities by foreign governments has been allowed to decay to a point 
> they cannot even make a copy of its contents.
>
> Responding to a recent Freedom of Information request from the Center 
> for Public Integrity, the Justice Department's Foreign Agent 
> Registration Unit said it was unable to copy its records 
> electronically because their computer system was "so fragile." In a 
> letter, the head of the unit's Freedom of Information office said that 
> simply attempting to make an electronic copy of the database "could 
> result in a major loss of data, which would be devastating."
>
> SNIP
> ================
> personal comment from Michael Ravnitzky:
>
> Here's the newest way the Justice Department is using to hid links to 
> Saudi funding.

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