FOX News Sues SEC Over FOIA Requests
Seeking information about just how long the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission might have been aware of possible problems involving R. Allen Stanford and the companies he operated, FOX Business Network filed an expedited Freedom of Information Act request seeking related records in late February.
Now FOX News Network LLC has sued over the issue. Contending that the SEC ignored the request and did not comply with its legal duty to provide public records within an expedited 10-day period, the news agency filed suit today in federal district court in Manhattan seeking not only a court order requiring the SEC to comply with its FOIA obligations but attorney fees and costs. Click here (PDF) to read the complaint.
“It is unacceptable that titans like R. Allen Stanford or Bernard Madoff were able to operate such massive financial frauds under the nose of institutions like the SEC,” says Kevin Magee, the executive vice president of FOX News, in a press release. “As a news organization, we believe it is the public’s right to know how these economic atrocities were committed as part of our continued quest to demand government accountability on behalf of the American taxpayers.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Why Didn’t SEC Move Faster in Stanford Case, Law Prof Wonders”
ABAJournal.com: “Why Madoff Warnings Were Ignored: Regulators Had Wrong Incentives”
