In 1988, then-Deputy Director of the CIA Robert Gates gave a talk at the National War College that left enough of an impression that a line or two ended up in the college’s end of the year “Book of Proverbs, Jokes, and Other Comments.” The Agency, never one to let a mention go unarchived, then preserved said book for posterity in CREST. Let’s just say there’s more than a few folks who’d probably prefer that didn’t happen.

After the Marines Corps refused to release Beyoncé’s vocal tracks, I filed a request for the processing notes. What I found: Beyoncé truly is a law unto herself.

Three months after Beyoncé’s lip synced performance at Obama’s inauguration, the Marine Corps has responded to a FOIA request by Michael Morisy for the singer’s backup tracks. The U.S. Marine Band sent two CDs from the performance — but not the singer’s own vocals.

Even as America begins processing that harrowing news that pop superstar Beyoncé dubbed over her inaugural performance of Star-Spangled Banner, there is a silver lining: The country might inherit a public domain work from the 16-time Grammy Award winner.