A Washington think tank is suing NASA for failing to respond to a FOIA request for three years.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed three Notices of Intent to File Suit against NASA and its Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), for those bodies’ refusal — for nearly three years — to provide documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

The information sought is directly relevant to the exploding “Climategate” scandal revealing document destruction, coordinated efforts in the U.S. and UK to avoid complying with both countries’ freedom of information laws, and apparent and widespread intent to defraud at the highest levels of international climate science bodies.

The group may be partisan, but the availability of information to any group or person is essential to freedom. Any government body that hinders efforts to reach the truth affects organizations of all political stripes–especially the press.