Question by Tavern M: CanI deposition under the freedom of information act?
I was wondering if I can deposition a FBI agent(s) under the freedom of information act? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by SoccerRefToo
Tavern
No. You would have to take legal action against the agents or the government to get them into a deposition. The FoI is all about the release of information classified by the government….. existing information in locked ‘files’.
Soccerref
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Jason W
July 31, 2011 at 8:54 am
First of all, during a deposition, you “depose” somebody.
Secondly, the answer is no. The Freedom of Information Act is a federal law granting access to paper documents and other records in the possession of an agency of the federal government. (States have their own public records laws, allowing access to records held by state and local governments.)
The FOIA does not require a federal agency to create a new record in order to answer your questions, it simply requires the agency to search its files for existing documents, and it does not give you the right to depose federal government employees.