Bin Laden Death Latest Event Subject to Freedom of Information Act Dispute

The Associated Press has submitted a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act for the release of the U.S. government photos of bin Laden's corpse. The AP request is also calling for video taken by military personnel during the raid and the feed from the USS Carl Vinson, where the military conducted Osama bin Laden's burial at sea, reports The Atlantic Wire. The Obama administration has 20 days to respond. After that, an appeal can be filed and eventually a lawsuit created to demand the release.

Judicial Watch has also filed requests under FOIA. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, does not believe President Obama's objections overrule the public's right to know, according to The Hill.

Depending upon how the photos are classified, including who has possession of the images, will ultimately play into the decision. If the special operations soldiers and intelligence personnel reported the photos to the Defense Department or the CIA, then the FOIA can be implemented. On the other hand, if the images are deemed White House records, they may be exempt from the disclosure law.

In the past, the Freedom of Information Act has been successful in releasing millions of pages of government information to the public. These include pages of documents, transcripts and videos that serve to educate the public about the activities of officials and uncover possible scandals that require further investigation. AP's desire to see the photos of Osama bin Laden was not the first request of it's sort, nor will it be the last.

Three cases where the Freedom of Information Act resulted in the release of documents:

Attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan

Nearly 30 years later, the U.S. Secret Service released the audio recording and internal interviews that examined the event in detail after a Freedom of Information Act claim. The transcripts regarding the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan are now available on the Secret Service website.

US Airways Flight 1549 crash landing in the Hudson River

After requests from Judicial Watch, the Federal Aviation Administration released airport control tower transcripts from the Jan. 15, 2009, crash. Included in the FAA documents are the LaGuardia tower air traffic communications, as well as the Teterboro tower and the New York Tracon

Analysis of Korean War

60 years after the start of the Korean War, the CIA released more than 1,300 documents regarding developments from 1947-1954. This include national estimates, foreign media and intelligence memos.