Energy nonprofit sues, accusing federal agencies of ‘infuriating’ effort to withhold information

Power the Future, an energy advocacy and education nonprofit, has for months attempted to get the names of the top staffers within the office of the Special Envoy for Climate (SPEC), which was headed by John Kerry at the time their original Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests were filed.

The request was just one in a long string of FOIA requests that the group says have been ignored, forcing them to file multiple lawsuits. When they file lawsuits to obtain the information they seek, the federal government continues a string of consistent stonewalling efforts, according to the complaints.

In February, Power the Future filed a lawsuit against the State Department for failing to disclose the names of its staffers. After eight months of failing to comply with the information requests, first by the State Department and then by the Department of Justice, the group has now filed a lawsuit against the DOJ.

Kerry’s office, which is now headed by John Podesta, has repeatedly resisted attempts to obtain the name of its staff. After FOIA requests by the Boston Herald yielded heavily redacted documents hiding the names and titles of the staff employed in the SPEC office, the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation in February seeking an unredacted list.

Delay tactics

At the same time, Power the Future filed requests for the same information and received the redacted list. The complaint filed last week details how the State Department wouldn’t comply with the requests and then, when Power The Future filed suit, the DOJ engaged in a lengthy series of delay tactics.

“It’s absolutely infuriating,” Daniel Turner, executive director of Power the Future, told Just the News.

The group has filed 14 lawsuits related to non-compliance with FOIA requests, involving several different agencies related to climate and energy. Turner said the basic pattern is the agency responds by saying it’s not disclosing the information. Then the agency will claim it needs 60 days. After 60 days, it requests another 60 days.

The latest 60-day delay will mean the records Power the Future seeks won’t be released until after the election.

“Well now you're just playing games. Now you're making it very clear you do not want any of this information released before the November election. The question is why,” Turner said.

"Pattern and practice" across federal agencies

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is a “pattern and practice” suit. When federal agencies are sued regarding FOIA requests, the DOJ acts as the attorney for the agency. When Power the Future sued and the DOJ got involved, Turner said, they received the same stonewalling treatment from the DOJ.

“That's why this lawsuit is against the DOJ, because they are the ones who clearly are coordinating across agencies — block, block, block — we are not releasing this information, and that's why it's a ‘pattern and practice’ lawsuit,” Turner explained.

Power the Future had a similar experience when attempting to get “chat” logs and text messages of Dan Utech, chief of staff for the EPA. It filed a separate “pattern and practice” lawsuit regarding those unfulfilled requests.

Larry Behrens, communications director for Power the Future, told Just the News that one of the tactics the agency would use is to wait until a 30-day deadline to respond. The attorneys would then show up to court to ask for an extension and tell the judge that they had only been assigned the case the day before, which is outlined in the complaint.

“So the agency would wait, allegedly, to the very end of their deadline to assign an attorney and then use that as an excuse for more time to respond,” Behrens said.

Behrens said it’s possible that the attorneys were handed the case the day before, and they’re not accusing the individual attorneys of doing anything improper. The pattern and practice accusations are against the agencies for waiting until the last day to ask attorneys to request an extension in order to further delay fulfilling the FOIA requests.

“There is clearly someone coordinating this, and that's why this lawsuit is trying to determine what the coordinating factors are and who's making these decisions,” Turner said.

Turner points out that Power the Future isn’t requesting any sensitive information. They are not seeking military secrets, private or personal information of individuals or material related to ongoing law enforcement investigations, which are statutorily exempt from FOIA laws.

“We're not looking for anyone to violate or put the nation at risk. This is a climate office that is supposed to ostensibly find creative solutions to tackle the climate crisis. What could possibly be so secretive that the American people don't have a right to know not just what they're doing, but who they're meeting with, what their budget is and how they chose their personnel?” Turner said.

The Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment.

Kerry joins green investing firm

This week, Kerry joined billionaire investor Tom Steyer's green-energy private-equity investing firm. He will be co-executive chairman of Galvanize Climate Solutions, co-founded by Steyer, according to a statement Monday.

Steyer, who made a reported $3.5 million in political contributions in the 2022 election cycle, writes on his LinkedIn page: "Sec. Kerry is joining Galvanize Climate Solutions because he shares the firm’s conviction that climate is good business and delivers something that the market demands - solutions, products, and services that are cheaper, better, and faster than those they replace."

Kerry himself has faced criticism for reportedly owning several high-priced energy guzzling homes, yachts and a Gulfstream private jet, although his defenders insist that because most of those assets are in his wife's name, they "don't count."