Evergreen Reporter

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed three Freedom of Information lawsuits against federal agencies for public records on the decision in January to close a federal archives center in Seattle.

The state requested the records more than six months ago, Ferguson said in a press release from his office.

“Not one of the agencies has provided a single document to the Attorney  General’s Office — an egregious violation of the key federal open  government law,” Ferguson said in the press release. 

Two of the federal agencies-the National Archives and Records Administration and the Office of Management and Budget didn't respond to Ferguson's request. 

The third agency, the General Services Administration, said in March that it had identified the records and would produce them, but “has unlawfully refused to follow  through on its agreement,” Ferguson said in the press release. 

The lawsuits, filed in federal court, seek an order forcing the agencies to turn over the documents.

“The decision to close the National Archives in Seattle has far-reaching impacts across the Northwest,” Ferguson said in the press release. “The federal government did not seek any local input on its decision to move  these important records more than 1,000 miles away, and now illegally  refuse to provide documents about how the decision was made. The people have a right to know.”