I know digging through government files is about as sexy as an octopus in lingerie, but y’all need to listen up: the system that allows us to access public records is on the verge of breaking. Without this system, we wouldn’t have found out about:

• the CIA’s post 9/11 torture program

• the Feds’ surveillance of Black Lives Matter activsts

• the local government’s response to the water crisis in Flint

Federal records requests have nearly doubled in the past five years, with no increase in the staff or budgets of those responding. The deluge is powered by MAGA, which is engaging in:

• robo-requests (funded by right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation)

• brigading (a coordinated instance when many people file similar requests at the instruction of another person, such as Mike Lindell)

Imagine my surprise when I found out that a conspiracy theory led dozens if not hundreds of people to submit requests about me to the State Department…

More on this crisis of transparency and democracy and what we can do about it: