DoD OIG Appeal Decision Grants Partial Elizondo Records Release
General represents a concrete, if partial, victory for transparency advocates seeking insight into the government's internal communications about Luis Elizondo. Addressed to John Greenewald of The Black Vault, the letter responds to an appeal of a FOIA request originally filed on June 28, 2022, under case number DODOIG-2022-001019. That request sought all classified and unclassified emails, including attachments, sent to or from Randolph R.
Stone, the Assistant Inspector General for Evaluations of Space, Intelligence, Engineering and Oversight, containing the keyword "Elizondo," as well as any emails between Stone and Elizondo that might not contain Elizondo's last name. C. § 552 (b)(5) and (b)(6).
Greenewald challenged only the (b)(5) withholdings, arguing the redactions were overly broad. The appellate authority, General Counsel Paul Hadjiyane, granted the appeal in part, releasing portions of the records previously withheld while affirming the remaining (b)(5) withholdings. That exemption protects deliberative process communications, and Hadjiyane determined that…