31-01-2025
FOIA Friday: Local post-election Trump emails
It would take thousands of dollars to learn what Detroit city employees emailed about President Trump right after he was elected.
Why it matters: We sought public employee emails via a FOIA request to gain additional context on how city officials reacted to, and plan to handle, President Trump's administration.
Not too much was said publicly by Mayor Mike Duggan's administration in the immediate aftermath, aside from Duggan pledging to work with the new president on common ground.
Driving the news: This is the latest story in our FOIA Friday series that shows how the state's public records law works and how difficult it can be to access public information.
Government emails can be particularly tricky, as their sheer volume makes it time-intensive for employees to sift through them, often leading to high costs for reporters.
How it worked: On Nov. 12, Axios Detroit requested emails to or from city employees containing the word "Trump" on Nov. 6-7.
Our request was due be granted or denied by Dec. 6, but it took until Jan. 9 to receive a formal answer — possibly because this FOIA request turned out to be more than 40,000 pages.
The cost was more than $11,000, though the city discounted that by half.
Flashback: It's not our first email FOIA that was cost prohibitive. One seeking context on an Olympia Development parking lot controversy back in 2022 would have cost $29,440 for 52,000 pages.
What's next: We plan to narrow the request to only top city officials and will update you on what we learn.
