After several media outlets published thousands of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s emails, some public figures claimed the emails had been “leaked.”
The Washington Post and BuzzFeed News say they used the Freedom of Information Act to request and obtain the emails of the White House’s chief medical adviser.
Niquelle M. Allen, the director of the District of Columbia Office of Open Government, Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA), explained to VERIFY that anyone can make a FOIA request at the federal or local level.
“State governments, including the District of Columbia, have separate Freedom of Information or open access rules, but those rules are patterned after the federal rule,” Allen said.