FOIAengine: Journalists Seek EPA Communications on Iran Bombing
A small circle of reporters – concentrated overwhelming at one news organization – is using the Freedom of Information Act to run what amounts to a systematic, real-time audit of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin’s schedule, meetings, communications, ethics filings, and political appointees.
During March, reporters for Politico and its sister-publication E&E News submitted 42 requests for hundreds of EPA documents, according to FOIAengine, which tracks FOIA requests in as close to real time as their availability allows.
A single environmental reporter, Kevin Bogardus of E&E News, filed 31 of the requests. Three other E&E News reporters – Ellie Borst, Sean Reilly and Miranda Millson – also sought EPA records. Politico reporter Alex Guillen submitted another six requests, including seeking all photographs of Administrator Zeldin and records of letters between the EPA and the governors of all 50 states and five U.S. territories.
The requests were notable for their breadth. Requests sought such records as emails, EPA leadership calendars, meeting records, congressional correspondence, ethics records for political appointees, visitor’s logs, and public remarks.
One Bogardus request sought information about the war in Iran, requesting emails sent to and from eight senior EPA officials “related to the United States’ bombing of Iran from Feb. 27 to March 2, 2026.” It asked for records “containing one or more of the following search terms as responsive records to my request: ‘Iran’ OR ‘Tehran’ OR ‘Minab’ OR ‘Ali Khamenei’ OR ‘Khamenei’ OR ‘Ayatollah’ OR ‘Supreme Leader’ OR ‘Epic Fury.’”
Bloomberg also sought EPA documents last month focusing on the agency’s involvement in Trump-related activity, particularly golf courses, which are regulated by a broad web of federal environmental regulations administered by the EPA. On March 26 and 27 Michael Rapoport of Bloomberg Tax filed a request for communications sent or received by Zeldin and Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi since President Trump took office “which are: a) to or from any of the following people or entities, or which b) mention any of these people or entities: Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., The Trump Organization, Trump Golf, Aureus Greenway Holdings, Powerus Corporation , Trump Endeavor 12 LLC, Trump National, Doral Miami, Trump National Golf Club LLC, DJT Holdings LLC, Trump National Golf Club, Colts Neck LLC, Trump International Golf Club, L.C.”
Gregory Korte of Bloomberg News submitted on March 26 a request seeking communications between Zeldin and President Trump relating to “insurance companies’ response to California wildfires.”
Many of the March requests illustrate a frequently used FOIA technique of using information received in response to one request to inform a later request for more detailed information. For example, requests for calendars led to requests for documents from meetings listed in the calendars. A March 17 request sought “all records … created in preparation for, distributed or received during and/or as the result of the ‘Meeting with Secretary Robert Kennedy, Department of Health and Human Services’ on March 6, 2026 … as listed on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s public calendar.”
Another request from Bogardus on March 26 stated: “In responses to previous FOIA requests, I have received correspondence logs from Congress to EPA identifying specific pieces of correspondence by control number and congressional office. I am now requesting specific pieces of correspondence identified in those correspondence logs by their control number and congressional office.”
The media requests produced a number of news reports in late March and early April. Politico and E&E News stories based on the requests may have been written for Politico Pro, a commercial news service operated by Politico, but several E&E News articles are available on their website. A March 26 Bogardus article about Administrator Zeldin’s EPA staffing acknowledged the role FOIA requests played in their reporting, stating that they had “reviewed calendars, personnel data and resumes obtained under the Freedom of Information Act to find who from ‘Team Zeldin’ is now on EPA’s payroll.” An April 2 Bogardus story reported that “internal emails shed more light on last summer’s episode” when the agency was rocked by an open dissent letter.
The many FOIA requests this month about Zeldin may also indicate something else: reporters may be gathering documentation for possible future coverage if Zeldin is nominated to be the next Attorney General.
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Randy E. Miller, co-creator of FOIAengine, is a Washington lawyer, publisher, and former government official. He has developed several online information products and was a partner at Hogan Lovells, where he founded the firm’s Brussels office and represented clients on international regulatory matters. Miller also has served as a White House trade lawyer, Senior Legal Adviser to the U.S. Mission to the World Trade Organization, policy director to Senator Bob Dole, and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He is a graduate of Yale and Georgetown Law. FOIAengine is a product of PoliScio Analytics (PoliScio.com), a venture specializing in U.S. political and governmental research, co-founded by Miller and Washington journalist John A. Jenkins.
Write to Randy E. Miller at randy@poliscio.com.
