{"id":20841,"date":"2025-09-03T13:04:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=20841"},"modified":"2025-09-03T13:10:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T13:10:07","slug":"nasa-cites-foia-exemption-to-withhold-james-webb-briefing-content-despite-public-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/nasa-cites-foia-exemption-to-withhold-james-webb-briefing-content-despite-public-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Cites FOIA Exemption to Withhold James Webb Briefing Content Despite Public Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA Seal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In September 2024, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed with NASA seeking records of congressional briefings on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The request asked for both classified and unclassified materials created between 2021 and 2024, including any briefings on discoveries made by the telescope.<\/p>\n

The request filed by The Black Vault was prompted by a wave of speculation online that suggested NASA had secretly briefed lawmakers on groundbreaking discoveries made by JWST. In mid-September 2024, a YouTube video<\/a> and subsequent social media posts claimed the telescope had detected a mysterious object moving toward Earth, sparking rumors that Congress had been given a classified update. These claims gained further traction when journalist Matt Laslo<\/a>, through his Ask a Pol<\/a> project, directly asked<\/a> Representative Andre Carson whether he had attended classified JWST briefings. Carson, who had previously chaired a congressional hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena, declined to respond. His refusal to comment was interpreted by some as confirmation, further fueling speculation that confidential briefings had taken place.<\/p>\n

However, NASA\u2019s initial response was that no records existed. According to the October 9, 2024, denial letter, searches of the Offices of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs (OLIA) and the Science Mission Directorate turned up nothing responsive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>An appeal challenged the adequacy of this search, citing NASA\u2019s public testimony before Congress about JWST in November 2022, which would have likely required preparatory and briefing materials, either of which should have been considered responsive to the original request. In December 2024, NASA\u2019s Office of the General Counsel sided with the appeal. The determination stated that responsive records had in fact been located and remanded the request for further processing.<\/p>\n

On August 29, 2025, NASA released a set of twenty-four pages of documents under the new case number 25-00860-F-HQ. The records included briefing slides prepared for a November 15, 2022, prep session ahead of a House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics hearing titled \u201cUnfolding the Universe: Initial Science Results from JWST\u201d <\/em>to be held the following day. Witnesses included Dr. Mark Clampin, NASA\u2019s Astrophysics Division Director; Dr. Steven Kinkelstein, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin; and Dr. Natalie Batalha, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Director of Astrobiology, at the University of California, Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n