Journalist Who Sued Feds for Records Can Collect $500,000 in Legal Fees

Had been fighting to get records pertaining to Ronald Reagan's past as an FBI informant

A journalist who won access to documents on President Ronald Reagan's supposed work as an FBI informant can collect nearly $470,400 in attorneys' fees, a federal judge ruled.

Seth Rosenfeld, of California, filed three suits against the Department of Justice and FBI in 1990 after they denied his Freedom of Information Act requests for "any and all" FBI records pertaining to the University of California.

He again sued the pair in 1997 over records concerning former President Ronald Reagan "and the individuals who were closely associated with him during the Cold War period."

According to two orders, levied Thursday by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, Rosenfeld "has written numerous publications about the FBI's activities in connection with the University of California during the Cold War, and the impact those activities had on the 'academic freedom and civil liberties' of American citizens."