I asked the federal government under an agency Trump just took control of, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (which has recovered multiples of its budget) for a copy of a receipt... evidence that a huge fine, supposedly paid by one of the banks was actually paid. ...[T]hey said... "You'll have to file a Freedom of Information Act request. This is the kind of administration we have.

David Cay Johnston (born December 24, 1948) is an American investigative journalist and author specializing in economics and tax issues. He won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting, and from 2009 to 2016 he was a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at Syracuse University, Martin J. Whitman School of Management and College of Law, teaching tax, property, and regulatory law of the ancient world. From 2011 to 2012 he was a columnist for Reuters, writing, and producing video commentaries on worldwide issues of tax, accounting, economics, public finance and business. In recent years he has also written for Al Jazeera America and Al Jazeera English, and is the board president of Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE).