A government watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor over its alleged refusal to release documents that could potentially show “conflicts of interest” issues among the agency’s senior officials.
Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Oct. 10. According to its complaint (pdf), the group filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Labor Department on Jan. 25, seeking documents related to political appointees receiving waivers to ethics laws and regulations.
“The release of these documents is in the public interest because they will help the public understand which high-level Department officials have potential conflicts of interest, how the Department is addressing those conflicts, and whether officials are following the rules,” the complaint explains….