Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Office of Administration
Decided May 19, 2009 (2009)
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Rule of Law:
An entity within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) is not an 'agency' subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) if its sole function is to provide operational and administrative support to the President and his staff, as such duties do not constitute substantial independent authority.
Facts:
- The Office of Administration (OA) is a unit within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) established to provide common administrative support and services, such as personnel, financial management, data processing, and mail services.
- In October 2005, it was discovered that entities within the EOP had lost millions of White House e-mails.
- In April 2007, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) submitted a FOIA request to OA seeking records concerning the missing e-mails and the EOP's e-mail management system.
- Initially, OA agreed to produce the records but later reversed its position.
- OA informed CREW that it was not an 'agency' under FOIA because its sole function is to provide administrative support directly to the President and EOP staff.
- Ultimately, OA refused to produce the majority of the requested records, claiming it was exempt from FOIA's requirements.
Procedural Posture:
- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued the Office of Administration (OA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to compel compliance with its FOIA request.
- OA filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, which the district court denied, permitting limited jurisdictional discovery into OA's functions and authority.
- Following discovery, OA filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
- The district court granted OA's motion to dismiss, holding that OA was not an 'agency' under FOIA because it lacked substantial independent authority.
- CREW, as appellant, appealed the dismissal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, with OA as the appellee.
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Issue:
Is the Office of Administration (OA), a unit within the Executive Office of the President that provides purely operational and administrative support to the President and his staff, an 'agency' subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)?
Opinions:
Majority - Griffith, Circuit Judge
No. The Office of Administration is not an 'agency' subject to FOIA because it lacks substantial independent authority. While FOIA's definition of 'agency' includes the Executive Office of the President, the Supreme Court in Kissinger held that this does not extend to units whose sole function is to advise and assist the President. This circuit's precedent has established that the key test is whether an EOP unit 'wields substantial authority independently of the President.' Unlike entities found to be agencies, such as the Office of Management and Budget or the Council on Environmental Quality, which have statutory duties to regulate or manage federal programs, OA's functions are entirely operational and administrative. Its role is analogous to the Executive Residence staff in Sweetland, providing support services like personnel management, data processing, and mail. Because OA's mission is to support the President and EOP staff and it has no authority to direct other officials or create regulations, it does not exercise the substantial independent authority necessary to qualify as an agency under FOIA. OA’s past compliance with FOIA is not legally determinative of its status.
Analysis:
This decision reinforces the 'substantial independent authority' test as the determinative standard for whether a component of the Executive Office of the President is subject to FOIA. It clarifies that purely operational and administrative support functions, even on a large scale for the entire EOP, do not meet this standard. The ruling effectively narrows the scope of FOIA within the executive branch, shielding offices with ministerial or support roles from disclosure requirements and distinguishing them from EOP units that possess substantive, policy-making, or regulatory power.
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