Essential Information, Inc. v. United States Information Agency

Contrary to our obligation to construe FOIA exemptions narrowly, John Doe Agency v. John Doe Corp., 493 U.S. 146, 152, 110 S.Ct. 471, 475, 107 L.Ed.2d 462 (1989), as well as the longstanding requirement that congressional intent to exempt matters from FOIA disclosure must appear in the “actual words” of the statute, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 816 F.2d 730, 734 (D.C.Cir.), clarified, 831 F.2d 1124 (D.C.Cir.1987), rev’d on other grounds, 489 U.S. 749, 109 S.Ct. 1468, 103 L.Ed.2d 774 (1989), the court today extends FOIA’s exemption for “matters ...…