Tag Archives: foia

MRFF’s 2017 Achievements Highlight Mikey Weinstein’s Weakness

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, perennial critic of religious freedom in the US military, celebrated the close of 2017 by happily saying, essentially, he’d ‘transitioned’ into a well-paid blogger. Apparently stung by the revelation he was soliciting funds for lawsuits that weren’t actually happening, Weinstein now says his primary mission is to communicate, not litigate [emphasis added]:

MRFF’s mission to ensure military religious freedom scored big wins this year with battles achieving massive publicity…

We [need your money to] fuel MRFF’s campaign to illuminate federally funded fundamentalism. We must open the public’s eyes. The spread of knowledge is our arsenal’s most potent weapon.

In other words, whereas Mikey Weinstein once bragged of how much he accomplished, he now brags of how much he talks. Apropos.

More tellingly, Weinstein included a list of 14 “achievements” for 2017 that read like a list of non-events — and other people’s events.

Within that list of 14, Read more

Breaking: Mikey Weinstein FOIA Lawsuit Dismissed with Prejudice

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein settled his FOIA lawsuit with the US Air Force Academy last week (making it the first lawsuit against the military/government he’s filed that wasn’t summarily tossed out). Weinstein had filed the lawsuit after he alleged USAFA was unresponsive to his Freedom of Information Act request.

One of USAFA’s complaints about Weinstein’s FOIA was that it was overly broad, and the settlement appears to specifically address that concern by having Weinstein cite the specific location of record searches and the subjects of the records sought.

(For the uninitiated, that information should have been in the initial FOIA request Weinstein Read more

Mikey Weinstein FOIA Lawsuit to be Heard Today

Today Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the US Air Force Academy is scheduled for a settlement hearing.

Of all the legal actions he’s filed in recent years, it is the one he has the most likelihood of seeing some success in and, to a degree, that success would be warranted.

Weinstein has asserted that years ago he filed a FOIA that has largely gone unanswered from an unresponsive FOIA office at USAFA. He is generally correct when he asserts the regulations regarding FOIA requests, including, for example, the fact FOIAs are supposed to be answered within 20 days.

In a somewhat unusual twist, Weinstein has Read more

Mikey Weinstein Loses Yet Again

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has an abysmal record as a lawyer, having participated in at least six lawsuits in the past few years and having won exactly zero.  (An MRFF FOIA lawsuit against the US Air Force Academy is scheduled for a settlement conference this month.)

In 2016, Weinstein’s impotence grew so much he lost in yet another area, his near-annual competition for the Christmas Grinch. Over the past couple of years Mikey Weinstein has been Read more

Group Sues US Military for Weinstein Records

Update: Also at OneNewsNow, where Judicial Watch claims Michael Weinstein has had an “adverse affect on religious freedom in the military,” and LifeSiteNews.

Judicial Watch announced it has filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Defense seeking information about its relationship with Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, following his now-infamous meeting with Pentagon officials in April:

Judicial Watch…filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit…against the Department of Defense seeking “all records and communications” between the Pentagon and Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) founder Mikey Weinstein, a controversial activist who has compared evangelicals with the Taliban and al-Qaeda and has called for the court martial of Christian chaplains (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:13-cv-01372 )).

Judicial Watch said they  Read more

Religious Freedom Group Investigates Military Chaplain Censorship

In what is likely a continuation of an action by the Military Religious Freedom Coalition, the Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking to learn how and why the Air Force chose to censor an article on faith written by Chaplain (LtCol) Kenneth Reyes.  The ADF notes Col Duffy’s decision — based explicitly on someone’s “offense” — has wider implications than just one web posting by Chaplain Reyes.

The FOIA also seeks to know the extent of the relationship between Col Brian Duffy, the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson commander, and the MRFF — namely, Read more

Michael Weinstein and the Problem with Air Force FOIAs

Michael Weinstein and his cohorts make frequent use of the US Air Force Inspector General complaint system.  As noted previously, its win-win for Weinstein, as he’s immune to any stigma should it go awry and he can cry foul whether the IG validates his complaint or not.

Weinstein also hammers the Air Force with Freedom of Information Act requests.  Again, for him they’re a win-win.  He gets to harass the Air Force, as the Air Force is required by law to dedicate precious and scarce resources to answer his every call, which also has the effect of distracting from the military’s mission.

Weinstein also gets access to information he normally wouldn’t.  While the Air Force tries to cull private and restricted information from Read more

FRC Sues Navy over Bible Ban Records

The Family Research Council has joined with Judicial Watch in filing a lawsuit against the US Navy seeking access to documentation over the Walter Reed policy that “banned” the Bible.

The FOIA lawsuit…seeks access to records concerning a policy announced in a September 14, 2011, memo issued by the Commander of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center banning the use and/or distribution of Bibles and other religious items during visits with wounded, ill or injured patients.

The Navy has reportedly failed to respond to the FRC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request within the time required by law.  Walter Reed rescinded the policy as insufficiently reviewed after intense media coverage.

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