Lauren Harper is the Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy at Freedom of the Press Foundation. She writes about government secrecy and the Freedom of Information Act. She previously worked for a decade at the National Security Archive, where she was public policy director. She holds master's degrees in public policy and Middle Eastern studies from the University of Chicago.
We have documented 3 statements by Lauren Harper, in 2 cases. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.
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Role at the time: Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, in an email to Dispute Index
Condemned
Statement summary
Lauren Harper, the Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, told us in an email that if DOJ prevails, public ownership of presidential records "ceases to exist" and presidents could destroy the government's most consequential records or sell them. She said that outcome "privatizes history that belongs to the public".
“If the DOJ prevails, public ownership of - and access to - presidential records ceases to exist, and administrations will be able to operate with impunity. It would also allow presidents to do whatever they want with the government’s most consequential records - from destroying them, to selling them to the highest bidder. In other words, it privatizes history that belongs to the public.”
Read the full email
Thanks for reaching out.
On the second point, I’d recommend reaching out to our counsel at CREW who are representing FPF in this lawsuit.
On the first point, the consequences are monumental - not just for this administration, but every one that follows. If the DOJ prevails, public ownership of - and access to - presidential records ceases to exist, and administrations will be able to operate with impunity. It would also allow presidents to do whatever they want with the government’s most consequential records - from destroying them, to selling them to the highest bidder. In other words, it privatizes history that belongs to the public.
Happy to be quoted directly - I’ve gone on record about the stakes of our lawsuit quite a bit. Here’s some more background: https://freedom.press/the-classifieds/judge-sides-with-fpf-orders-white-house-to-save-records/
Emailed statement from Lauren Harper to Dispute Index on the Presidential Records Act challenge · Lauren HarperEmailed statement from Lauren Harper, October 22, 2026 (UTC).
Why we used this label
The case tracks DOJ's argument that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional. Harper says a DOJ win would end public ownership of presidential records and let presidents destroy or sell them, rejecting DOJ's position.
Role at the time: Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, posting on her own Bluesky account
Condemned
Statement summary
In a Bluesky post on Sept. 18, 2026 that linked the Washington Post's report on U.S. military deaths in the Iran war, Lauren Harper, the Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the Pentagon "continues to lie" about the number of troops and contractors who have died. She said the story deserves attention and thanked reporter Nick Turse for covering the issue for months.
“The Pentagon continues to lie about the number of troops and contractors that have died as a result of the Iran War.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Lauren Harper (@laurenleharper.bsky.social) on Bluesky, Sept. 18, 2026 · Lauren HarperFirst paragraph of the post; posted 2026-09-18 18:44 UTC (2:44 p.m. EDT)
Why we used this label
Harper expresses condemnation: in her own words she says the Pentagon is still lying about how many troops and contractors have died, and she links the Post's report as the story that deserves attention. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, because she disputes the Pentagon's published figures without stating a number of her own. That loses because her sentence goes beyond disputing a description and directly criticizes the accounting itself.
Role at the time: Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, writing in the foundation's newsletter The Classifieds
Condemned
Statement summary
In her Freedom of the Press Foundation newsletter of August 2, 2026, Lauren Harper wrote that the Pentagon's decision to add casualties from July 7 onward to a new Overseas Operations database, instead of its Operation Epic Fury database, is its "latest effort to obfuscate the human costs of the ongoing Iran war." She called it a "cynical numbers game" that forces the public to "hunt down and manually add numbers across multiple databases to get an accurate total," and suggested the motive may be to avoid the War Powers Resolution's 60-day limit.
“In what appears to be its latest effort to obfuscate the human costs of the ongoing Iran war, the Pentagon has stopped adding casualties that occurred on or after July 7, 2026, to its "Operation Epic Fury" casualty database — adding them instead to a new database ambiguously titled "Overseas Operations." ... This cynical numbers game has nothing to do with the war being over. All bifurcating the data does is force the public to hunt down and manually add numbers across multiple databases to get an accurate total.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)The Classifieds, August 2, 2026: Pentagon secrecy deepens as Iran war drags on (Freedom of the Press Foundation) · Freedom of the Press FoundationFirst item, Pentagon deflates Iran war casualties
Why we used this label
This case classifies responses to the Pentagon's public accounting of U.S. military deaths in the Iran war. Harper criticizes how the Pentagon handles the count, saying the split into two databases is an effort to obfuscate the human costs and forces the public to add numbers across databases to get a total, an express criticism of the accounting. Her piece predates the Washington Post's September 18 report of additional deaths and does not address it. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, because she also disputes the Pentagon's explanation that the operation had ended. That loses because she goes past the explanation to call the split a cynical numbers game.
The Washington Post reported in September at least 22 or 23 U.S. service member deaths in the Iran war, when the Pentagon's public database listed 18. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the report fake. The Pentagon's count has since risen to 21.
DOJ argues that the Presidential Records Act exceeds Congress's powers and intrudes on presidential independence. Historians and watchdog groups defend public ownership and preservation requirements. A preliminary injunction against White House officials is under appeal.
