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ARTICLE · 02 JANUARY 2026

GAO Cautions Agencies—Over-Redact At Your Own Peril

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While agencies may continue limiting the documents produced (or redacting the documents that are produced) in response to a protest...

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Amy Laderberg O'Sullivan
Amy Laderberg O'Sullivan
Christian Curran
Christian Curran
Cherie J. Owen
Cherie J. Owen
Roxie Cassidy
Roxie Cassidy

What You Need to Know

  • Key takeaway #1 While agencies may continue limiting the documents produced (or redacting the documents that are produced) in response to a protest, GAO's Tiger Natural Gas decision provides a stern reminder that the agency must nonetheless produce a contemporaneous record that allows GAO to assess the reasonableness of the challenged findings. A sea of black will not answer the mail.
  • Key takeaway #2 Protesters should continue to push back against agency over-redaction or record limitation efforts with citations to such decisions as Tiger Natural Gas  to highlight the issue for GAO.

Bid protest practitioners in recent years have witnessed agencies' increasing efforts to limit the production of documents and information in response to Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protests—often will little pushback from GAO. This practice has underscored the notable difference in the scope of bid protest records before GAO

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