DoD: AOIMSG Redactions Lifted Following FOIA Appeal Victory
Following a successful administrative appeal under FOIA, the Department of Defense re-released the December 2021 AOIMSG briefing card with previously redacted sections now unredacted. The disclosure resolved questions about content withheld under exemption (b)(5).
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Background
On April 3, 2024, The Black Vault secured an updated release of the AOIMSG briefing card through a successful Freedom of Information Act appeal. This version removed the redactions previously applied under exemption (b)(5) to the 'Additional Background Information' section and the previously censored question in the Q&A portion.
The appeal victory revealed the content that the Office of the Secretary of Defense had initially deemed deliberative and exempt from disclosure. The release demonstrated the effectiveness of the FOIA appeals process in penetrating government secrecy regarding UAP-related materials, even when initial requests result in heavy censorship.
This updated disclosure provided researchers and the public with the complete context surrounding the Pentagon's early communications strategy regarding unidentified aerial phenomena and potential extraterrestrial hypotheses, which had been specifically referenced in the adjacent unredacted questions. Via TheBlackVault.com (FOIA).
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