Fans are making some creative attempts to see 'Game of Thrones' early

Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez

Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez


There are only a few days left until we finally get to see the new season of "Game of Thrones." Apparently, the wait is just too long for one enterprising writer.

Vanessa Golembewski of Refinery29 actually filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the General Services Administration to release season six.

The crux of her case is this: HBO gave President Obama advance copies of the season and any gift given to a public official is a matter of public record and has to go through the GSA at some point.

She wrote, "If the president — and by extension, our government — is in possession of a file, surely that file is subject to my request to see it as a U.S. citizen."

So does that mean the White House is going to upload every episode of the season? Not exactly.

Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act excludes "trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged" from being released.

And the fate of Jon Snow has been about as confidential as any classified government document. In fact, Obama is the only person not on HBO's payroll that has access to the show. It's already the most-pirated program on TV, so the network declined to give reviewers early access.

But even if there were a way around the exemption, an expert told The Poynter Institute, "The GSA takes an average of 121 days to respond to requests." By that time, season six will be over, and we'll all be dying to know what happens in season seven.

This video includes clips from the White HouseHBO and an image from the White House.

About the Author