{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"Mark Babcock","home_page_url":"https://markbabcock.com","description":"Mark Babcock","author":{"name":"Mark Babcock"},"items":[{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/given-your-particular-circumstances","html_content":"

By the time this letter arrived, I had already spent years trying to understand what had happened to my father.

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/given-your-particular-circumstances","title":"\"Given Your Particular Circumstances\"","summary":"By the time this letter arrived, I had already spent years trying to understand what had happened to my father.","date_modified":"2026-06-03T00:35:39Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-telegram","html_content":"

Most records arrive alone.

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-telegram","title":"The Telegram","summary":"Most records arrive alone.","date_modified":"2026-06-03T00:23:04Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/five-files-gone","html_content":"

Some records answer questions. Others reveal how much has already disappeared.

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/five-files-gone","title":"Five Files Gone","summary":"Some records answer questions. Others reveal how much has already disappeared.","date_modified":"2026-06-03T00:04:51Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/a-letter-inside-the-file","html_content":"

The Honolulu Police Department suicide incident report contained more than witness statements, investigative notes, and administrative paperwork. Buried among the pages was a single letter dated July 19, 1993.

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/a-letter-inside-the-file","title":"A Letter Inside the File","summary":"The Honolulu Police Department suicide incident report contained more than witness statements, investigative notes, and administrative paperwork. Buried among the pages was a single letter dated July 19, 1993.","date_modified":"2026-06-02T23:47:32Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/common-questions-about-foia-requests-and-investigative-research","html_content":"

How long do FOIA requests usually take?

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/common-questions-about-foia-requests-and-investigative-research","title":"Common Questions About FOIA Requests and Investigative Research","summary":"How long do FOIA requests usually take?","date_modified":"2026-06-02T16:33:05Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/sec-foia-appeal-ends-with-practical-win","html_content":"

On June 2, 2026, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a decision concerning an appeal of the agency's denial of a public-interest fee waiver request related to records involving an investigat...

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/sec-foia-appeal-ends-with-practical-win","title":"SEC FOIA Appeal Ends With Practical Win","summary":"On June 2, 2026, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a decision concerning an appeal of the agency's denial of a public-interest fee waiver request related to records involving an investigat...","date_modified":"2026-06-02T15:59:08Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/how-to-successfully-file-a-foia-request","html_content":"

When I filed my first FOIA request, I believed the request itself was the search. I couldn't have been more wrong.

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/how-to-successfully-file-a-foia-request","title":"How to Successfully File a FOIA Request:","summary":"When I filed my first FOIA request, I believed the request itself was the search. I couldn't have been more wrong.","date_modified":"2026-06-01T23:15:41Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-power-of-persistence","html_content":"

The most important lesson I learned during seventeen years of FOIA requests is that persistence matters more than almost anything else.

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-power-of-persistence","title":"The Power of Persistence:","summary":"The most important lesson I learned during seventeen years of FOIA requests is that persistence matters more than almost anything else.","date_modified":"2026-06-01T23:04:27Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-power-of-public-records","html_content":"

Seventeen years ago I began asking questions that no one in authority was willing to answer. The only way forward was through the records—hundreds of FOIA requests, appeals, referrals, denials, acknowledgments, and the o...

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-power-of-public-records","title":"The Power of Public Records:","summary":"Seventeen years ago I began asking questions that no one in authority was willing to answer. The only way forward was through the records—hundreds of FOIA requests, appeals, referrals, denials, acknowledgments, and the o...","date_modified":"2026-06-01T02:01:37Z"},{"id":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-search-continues","html_content":"

People sometimes ask if the search ends when a request is answered. In my experience, that is usually when the next stage begins. Records create new questions. Denials reveal where information may exist. Appeals expose d...

","url":"https://markbabcock.com/witness-protection%2C-foia/f/the-search-continues","title":"The Search Continues","summary":"People sometimes ask if the search ends when a request is answered. In my experience, that is usually when the next stage begins. Records create new questions. Denials reveal where information may exist. Appeals expose d...","date_modified":"2026-06-01T01:30:51Z"}]}