Interior Dept.'s Push To Limit Public Records Requests Draws Criticism

When Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, left his post as U.S. Interior Department secretary on Jan. 2, he was under fire on multiple fronts.

There was an ongoing federal investigation into Zinke's role in a real estate deal between his family foundation and the head of oil giant Halliburton. Rumors swirled that his office tried to replace the head of Interior's internal watchdog with a Trump political appointee. Some of these investigations came about because of public records requests to Interior from media outlets and environmental protection groups.