Federal agencies are limiting public access because of a 2001 memo from Attorney General John Ashcroft, according to a congressional watchdog agency. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report saying, a significant percentage of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) officers have reduced the amount of information available to the public because of Attorney General John Ashcroft’s infamous October 2001 memo. Ashcroft’s memo instructed agencies to exercise greater caution in disclosing information requested under FOIA. The GAO investigated the impact of Ashcroft’s memo, in response to a request from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). GAO’s methodology included reviewing FOIA policy documents and surveying 183 FOIA officials at 23 federal agencies. Almost a full third of the total number of FOIA officials surveyed (31 percent) reported that because of the memo there was a decreased likelihood that their agencies would make a discretionary release of information. Additionally, one-fourth of the FOIA officials surveyed reported that Ashcroft’s memo has changed the use of specific FOIA exemptions. For a single memo the impact indicated by this simple survey is considerable. Others have reported that the GAO report indicates that the Ashcroft memo has had no effect on the amount of information released by the government. These stories note that nearly half of the FOIA officials noticed no change since Ashcroft changed the policy. Glaringly, they seem to overlook the impacts the investigation has revealed as well as the report’s shortcomings, which might explain some of the lopsided survey results. It is likely that the GAO investigation fails to capture the full impact of Ashcroft’s memo. GAO neither verified any of the opinions stated by the FOIA officials nor did they survey FOIA requesters to gauge their perceptions of changes. It is possible that changes have occurred without FOIA officials perceiving an actual “change” or “a reduction of information.” Another study also indicates that FOIA officials may not be the best resource to determine a change in implementation. As reported in a previous OMB Watcher article, the National Security Archives recently conducted an independent audit of agencies to gauge the impact of the Ashcroft memo and found agencies' implementation of FOIA requests in disarray. The audit found varied responses from agencies to the Ashcroft memo showing that, so far, it has impacted some agencies more than others. Finally, the Ashcroft memo is only one component of a new and overarching agenda of secrecy the Bush administration continually advocates. The impact this memo has had on information indicates that fuller investigations should be made into the interaction and full effect of all these secrecy policies.