FOIA Request Components

A large number of documents on this website have been obtained under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.  Occasionally, a FOIA officer will try to restrict the distribution of documents / information to the public at large.  To these I say, “Release to one is release to all.” The well-known maxim under the FOIA that “release to one is release to all” was [Read More…]

Redaction In excising material, please “black out” rather than “white out” or “cut out.”  Additionally, any reasonably segregable portion of a responsive record must be provided to me after redaction of any allegedly exempt material, as the law requires.  5 U.S.C. § 552(b).  If this request is denied, in full or in part, please cite the exemptions pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b) [Read More…]

Record Search When processing this request, please note that the D.C. Circuit has previously held that agencies have a duty to construe the subject material of FOIA requests liberally to ensure responsive records are not overlooked. See Nation Magazine, Washington Bureau v. U.S. Customs Service, 71 F.3d 885, 890 (D.C. Cir. 1995). In line with the guidance issued by the Department of Justice [Read More…]

Presidential Memorandum For Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies “The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears.  Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed [Read More…]

Preservation of Records Please ensure that, in accordance with the DC Circuit’s ruling in Chambers v. Dep’t of the Interior, 568 F.3d 998 (D.C. Cir. 2009), all records potentially responsive to this FOIA request are immediately preserved from destruction until the final resolution of this FOIA action. Destruction of potentially responsive records after the receipt of a FOIA request is considered “contumacious conduct” [Read More…]

According to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(viii), an agency shall not assess search fees if the agency fails to comply with time limits allowed under the Freedom of Information Act. (a)(4)(A)(viii) An agency shall not assess search fees (or in the case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II), duplication fees) under this subparagraph if the agency fails to comply with any time limit under [Read More…]

FOIA Fee Waiver Request FOIA mandates a waiver or reduction of fees associated with a request if “disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). The former Victorville Army [Read More…]

I am requesting a complete and unredacted copy of the contents of the administrative tracking/processing/handling file/folder, including but not limited to notes, memos, and other records, along with any related emails, associated with FOIA Request (or Appeal) Number XXXXX²

NARA FOIA Regulations When an agency physically transfers its records to a NARA-operated Federal Records Center (or any other records center), the agency retains legal ownership of those records, including responding to FOIA and other access requests, until the records are either legally transferred into the National Archives as permanent records, or are destroyed as temporary records in accordance with a NARA-approved records [Read More…]

FOIA 5 USC 552(c) exempts information from disclosure.  For some national security (nuclear weapons – 91b radioactive material) & law enforcement content, the agency can legally lie to you about its nonexistence, 5 USC 552(c) – on top of Glomar (“can’t confirm or deny”) responses. To avoid both of these scenarios, exclusions authorize the agency to “treat the records as not subject to [Read More…]

Definition of Record The term “record” includes, but is not limited to: 1) all email communications to or from any individual within your agency; 2) memoranda; 3) inter-agency communications; 4) sound recordings; 5) tape recordings; 6) video or film recordings; 7) photographs; 8) notes; 9) notebooks; 10) indices; 11) jottings; 12) message slips; 13) letters or correspondence; 14) telexes; 15) telegrams; 16) facsimile [Read More…]

If 3+ people request the same records from an agency, the agency has to make those records proactively & electronically public. This was formalized in the FOIA Improvement Act, from what used to be standard policy for “frequently requested records”. 5 USC 552(a)(2)(D)(ii)(II) “(2) Each agency, in accordance with published rules, shall make available for public inspection in an electronic format— … D) [Read More…]