The Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with Cabinet-level agencies and inter-agency departments looking for opposition research to use against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

In early February, there was a sharp uptick in the number of FOIA requests from the DNC with McCain as a specific target. February was about the same time McCain emerged as the front-runner and likely nominee.

{mosads}A review of FOIA requests and independent confirmations obtained by The Hill turned up requests from the DNC at at least four agencies – the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Commerce Department.

According to one filing, Alicia McClintock, a DNC operative, wrote DOI asking for “any and all records of communication (including but not limited to letters, written requests, reports, telephone records, electronic communication) between your agency and John McCain or his offices/staff from 1999 to present during which period he has been a United States Senator.”

A spokeswoman for the DNC said the FOIA requests and research efforts are “standard.”

The review did not turn up any similar requests from the Republican National Committee (RNC), which employs an expansive research department.

An RNC official declined to discuss “strategy or specific tactics” but did say the committee is “taking every step to define the Democratic opposition, whether it’s Sen. Obama or Sen. Clinton.”

The RNC has not been shy about targeting either candidate thus far.

But the DNC has become much more vocal and visible in its criticisms of McCain in recent weeks.

While the party’s eventual nominee remains locked in an intensifying battle with a fellow Democrat, the DNC has opted to target McCain with a laser-like focus.