Bloomberg v. Fed -- Deadline for Fed to appeal is Sept. 30
Posted 9/18/2009 2:32:00 PM

Dear ASNE member:

I write to alert you to an important First Amendment case that you might wish to report on or editorialize about.

Bloomberg has sued the Federal Reserve — and won — seeking the records of the banks that sought emergency funding and the nature of the collateral they provided.

Time is short. The Fed now has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to appeal or not. The Fed must seek approval to appeal through the solicitor general who, via the attorney general, reports directly to President Obama.

That means for the first time, President Obama will have to directly decide whether or not to appeal a court decision that grants Bloomberg access to those documents. Links are provided to several Bloomberg stories on the subject. Also, documents attached below on the suit itself and the judge's ruling.

An op-ed by Bloomberg editor-in-chief Matt Winkler is available below for publication at your option.

FYI, a number of news organizations have at this writing committed to defending, as amici curiae, the public's right to know in the event that the Obama administration decides to protect the banks' secrecy:

In the context of the biggest global meltdown of the financial system since the Great Depresssion, the public's right to know has never been more urgent.

Thanks very much.

Marty Kaiser
ASNE President

Civil docket information

Attached Files

Bloomberg v. Fed

Fact sheet

Op-ed by Bloomberg editor-in-chief