ABSTRACT
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is part of the basic weaponry of modem regulatory war, deployable against regulators and regulated alike. Almost all of the Freedom of Information Act's current problems are attributable not to the original legislation enacted in 1966, but to the 1974 amendments. The necessary training for any big-time litigating lawyer now includes not only the cross-examination of witnesses, but use of the Freedom of Information Act. The denial is subject to de novo review-which means that the court will examine the records on its own and come to its own independent decision. The effect of 1974 amendments to the Freedom of Information Act was to eliminate the distinction between investigation and publication. The defects of the Freedom of Information Act cannot be cured as long as reader are dominated by the obsession that gave them birth that first line of defense against an arbitrary executive is do-it-yourself oversight by the public and its surrogate, the press.
