SDNY / UN GATE, June 4 – How is the
United States spending its time and taxpayers' money in
the United Nations? What gifts are US Ambassador to the UN
Mike Waltz giving - and taking?
These the questions Inner City
Press has covered, inside the UN and now from outside,
banned by UNSG Antonio Guterres. Waltz has done nothing.
He's been quoted, on what his greatest excitement at the
UN is, that "It’s to take over the UN’s outdoor terrace
and celebrate America’s 250th birthday with the best view
of the fireworks." Priorities.
On May 31 Inner City Press filed a US
Freedom of Information Act request with the State
Department for, among other things,
"All records reflecting funds paid by the
United States government (including the US Mission to the
UN (USUN) and any other agency or component) to hold,
sponsor, co-sponsor, or support events inside United
Nations Headquarters in New York City since January 20,
2025, including but not limited to: The July 4, 2026
Independence Day fireworks viewing party planned by US
Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz on the rooftop of United
Nations Headquarters; The Artemis
event hosted in the spring of 2026 in the lobby of the
United Nations General Assembly building; • Any
other receptions, galas, briefings, screenings, or similar
events held at UN Headquarters with US government funding
or co-sponsorship since January 20, 2025; and
Gifts, Emoluments, and Benefits Received by
Ambassador Waltz All records reflecting gifts,
complimentary tickets, meals, hospitality, travel, or
other emoluments offered to or accepted by US Ambassador
to the UN Mike Waltz in his official or personal capacity
since January 20, 2025, including but not limited to:
• Tickets to Madison Square Garden events, sporting
events, concerts, or entertainment venues; • Meals,
receptions, or hospitality provided by private entities,
foreign missions, UN agencies, or other governmental or
non-governmental organizations; • Any gifts reported
or required to be reported under 5 C.F.R. Part 2635
(Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the
Executive Branch) or the Foreign Gifts and Decorations
Act, 5 U.S.C. § 7342; and
Citizen and Journalist Requests for
UN Access Assistance All records reflecting communications
received by the US Mission to the UN (USUN) and/or the
Department of State from American citizens — including
journalists, researchers, and members of the public —
seeking assistance in gaining access to the United
Nations, or reporting alleged corruption, waste, fraud, or
abuse in or by the United Nations, since January 20, 2025,
including: • All requests received by USUN from
journalists or news organizations for assistance obtaining
or restoring UN press credentials; • All internal
deliberations, recommendations, decisions, and non-exempt
communications regarding such requests, including any
referrals to the UN Department of Global Communications
(DGC) or the UN Secretary-General's office; • All
records reflecting the actions taken (or not taken) on
such requests, including any responses provided to
requesters; • All records reflecting communications
between USUN and the UN regarding the accreditation or
de-accreditation of journalists, including US citizens who
have been denied access to UN press areas, the UN Security
Council stakeout area, or UN press briefings; and •
All records reflecting any policy, guidance, or internal
directive issued by USUN or the Department of State since
January 20, 2025, regarding the handling of citizen or
journalist requests related to UN
access.
Requests for fee waivers (such as Inner
City Press routinely gets from other Federal agencies) and
for expedited processing, given the July 4 boondoggle and
otherwise, have been made. Full request on Inner City
Press' DocumentCloud here.
The request comes days after Inner City
Press filed a FOIA lawsuit in SDNY regarding the Justice
Department's sweetheart deal with Live Nation, before the
jury trial in this it has been deemed a monopolist. Will
that be necessary here?
It seems it might (be necessary). On June
4, the State Department's Megan Farrell, Lead Government
Information Specialist, FOIA Case Processing Office,
Information Access Programs Directorate wrote that "Your
request does not demonstrate a “compelling need†for the
requested information. Therefore, this Office denies your
request for expedited processing." But the second of their
test is if "the information is urgently needed by an
individual primarily engaged in disseminating information
in order to inform the public concerning actual or alleged
Federal government activity."
Inner City Press immediately appealed:
Inner City Press daily covers and reports on the United
Nations, USUN and diplomacy, albeit from the SDNY press
room, given the UN's lack of any objective press access
standards. he records sought in Category A concern a
specific, date-certain government expenditure — taxpayer
funds being spent on a Fourth of July VIP event at or
involving UN facilities. That event will occur on or
around July 4, 2026 — fewer than 30 days from the date of
this appeal. Information about how much taxpayer money is
being spent on a VIP rooftop party at the United Nations
is of obvious public interest before the event, when the
public can still respond, contact their representatives,
and hold the government accountable. After July 4, the
expenditure will have occurred and the public's ability to
meaningfully engage with this information will be
substantially diminished. The urgency is concrete,
specific, and tied to a hard date — not speculative.
Actual Federal government activity: The
expenditure of U.S. taxpayer funds by a U.S. government
agency (USUN) for a specific event is by definition actual
Federal government activity. There is no question that
records of such expenditures, if they exist, concern what
the government has done with public money. The D.C.
Circuit has recognized that the urgency criterion under
FOIA's expedited processing provisions is satisfied where
a journalist seeks information about current or imminent
government activity that will lose its primary public
interest value after a specific, identifiable date. The
July 4 event is exactly such a date. The Department's bare
denial, without any analysis of these factors, does not
satisfy its obligation under the statute.
The Appeal Must Be Decided Within Ten Calendar Days" --
Watch this site.
