Bloomberg Opposes Fed's Request For Stay In FOIA Case
By Kristina Peterson, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Bloomberg News filed a brief with the U.S. Second
Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday opposing the U.S. Federal Reserve's request
for a stay delaying the release of public records containing information about
banks' lending activities during the financial crisis.
The Fed filed for a notice of appeal and requested an emergency stay last
week, arguing that disclosing records containing sensitive lending information
could cause "irreparable harm" to the financial institutions who borrowed money.
Bloomberg sued in November 2008 after the Fed withheld requested records from
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, arguing the regional banks' records were
exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. The public records request asked for
information from April and May 2008, revealing which financial institutions
borrowed money from the Fed's discount window and primary-dealer credit facility
and what they pledged as collateral for the loans.
The Southern District Court of New York ruled in favor of Bloomberg in August
and ordered the Fed to disclose the withheld records. Two days later, the Fed
filed for a temporary stay pending appeal, which the district court granted.
Both Fox News Network LLC and Dow Jones & Co. made similar public-record
requests, which were denied. News Corp. (NWS,NWSA) owns both Fox News and Dow
Jones, publisher of this newswire.
-By Kristina Peterson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6619; kristina.peterson@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-05-091754ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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