A lot of reporters use the Freedom of Information Act — FOIA — to request documents from the government.
Last year, I asked the State Department for copies of some correspondence related to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. And it took me a while to hear back.
I received a response last week.
Evidently, there’s a huge backlog at the State Department in the office that handles requests like mine, and we now know why.
An inspector general looked into the matter and provided an explanation: “The office lacks copy machines that can handle the volume required.”
There aren’t enough copy machines. At the State Department. In 2015.
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