Show Notes
In August 2022, on the day the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to recover files from Donald Trump's first term, another allegation was swirling around – that presidential papers may have been flushed down a White House toilet. This raised a lot of questions. How many documents could a person flush down a toilet? Could they be recovered? Did the FBI ever investigate? Join hosts Jason Leopold and Matt Topic, and producers Heather Schroering and Sean Cannon, on a journey of sinkholes, fatbergs and the power of public record searches. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Disclosure
When the Securities and Exchange Commission announced earlier this year that it had disciplined workers for golfing on the job, investigative reporter Jason Leopold shot off a FOIA request. Co-host Matt Topic, who is an accomplished golfer, and Jason, who isn’t, pore over records he received about the SEC’s internal investigation. They learn how a few words overheard on a golf course launched a Caddyshack-worthy investigation into allegations of government waste and abuse – or, in this instance, “known golf activity.” Subscribe to the FOIA Files newsletter at https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/foia-files. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Investigative reporter Jason Leopold and attorney Matt Topic take viewers inside a yearslong effort to head off document destruction at the White House during President Trump’s first term. Drawing from government documents (and The Big Lebowski), they reveal how the US National Archives and Records Administration tried to alert the feds to potentially illegal record disposal. And they learn why FBI and Justice Department personnel clashed before searching Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. Voice acting by Mandy Hull.
Disclosure, the podcast dedicated to revealing the government’s inner workings, is back for Season 2 in audio and video.
One Christmas, Matt dashed off a letter to the FBI’s FOIA office: Please search your old investigation files for the name Santa Claus, he requested, and send me the first few pages you find. What a simple holiday wish taught us about one agency’s spirit of giving. The Disclosure podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts. For early and ad-free access to episodes, subscribe at www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ask the US government for public records, and your request will go to a federal employee who holds the keys to what gets released and what doesn’t. Jason and Matt get a rare look inside a government Freedom of Information Act operation from Michael Sarich, who worked his way up from a FOIA post at the Bureau of Land Management to FOIA director at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this episode, they discuss weird requests, big backlogs and the latest challenges to government transparency. For early and ad-free access to this episode on Apple, subscribe at www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts.