A senior Consumer Financial Protection Bureau official tried to hide bank responses to consumer complaints from appearing in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group Cause of Action.
The Washington Examiner reports that CFPB official Scott Pluta:
- Asked CFPB colleagues to find a way to shield communications with banks from requests under the federal Freedom of Information Act;
- Asked CFPB employees if they "can craft a letter or bury something in the manual" to keep communications with the banks "private";
- Told CFPB's legal counsel and FOIA experts that "you're absolutely killing me ... I would really appreciate if in the back of your heads you could think about how to creatively solve this puzzle."
Pluta is assistant director of CFPB's Office of Consumer Response. One of the main reasons Congress created CFPB in 2010 was to provide consumers with more transparency about how banks and other financial institutions conduct business.