Ag Department Ordered to Release Officials’ Calendars

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The Department of Agriculture was told by a federal appeals court that it must release the calendars of five senior officials. The information had been requested by the Consumer Federation of America, which wants to know if any of the five met with industry lobbyists opposing food safety rules The federation filed a FOIA request for the information in 2004. It filed suit in 2005 after the officials released the calendars but with heavy redactions. On one calendar, 82 of 86 items in one month were deleted. (7/12/06)