12-0003-I (Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General)

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=EOUSA-2019-004562&type=request)

* Tracking Number: EOUSA-2019-004562
* Requester Name: Emma Best
* Date Submitted: 09/19/2019
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Materials mentioning, generated or received as part of the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Inspector General's (Office of Investigations) investigation number 12-0003-I, including but not limited to emails containing "12-0003-I" or "12 0003 I," materials describing the FBI's briefing, materials describing the evidence collected and shared by the FBI (including materials describing its provenance), as well as any interim, final or supplemental reports and any communications to or from the Attorney General's office regarding the matter.

Note that the investigation was closed with the consent of both NARA and the FBI, and there was no finding of criminal activity. Therefore, broad b7(A) redactions do not apply. Please see attached for prior, official disclosures which were reviewed and approved by both NARA and the FBI.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Attachments:

https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/75412/12-0003-I202019.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/75412/12-0003-I202013.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/75412/Fee20category20and20search20parameters.pdf

Please see the attached response.

Your request for Fee Waiver for the FOIA request EOUSA-2019-004562 has been determined to be not applicable as the request is not billable.

* Fee Waiver Original Justification:
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously
written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000
readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People,
Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable
expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In
addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through
non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock,
disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great
deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself.
As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular
subject in advance.
Further, case law states that “proof of the ability to disseminate the released information
to a broad cross- section of the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of
Justice, 365 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.
3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified because it also
had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document sets’” concerning United States
foreign and national security policy." Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of
the news media.
Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the
requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a
representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for
example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is
in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the
request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category.
I request that fees be waived.
* Fee Waiver Disposition Reason:
N/A

EOUSA-2019-004562 has been processed with the following final disposition: Improper FOIA Request for Other Reasons

This message is to notify you of a new appeal submission to the FOIAonline application. Appeal information is as follows:

* Appeal Tracking Number: DOJ-AP-2020-000596
* Request Tracking Number: EOUSA-2019-004562
* Requester Name: Emma Best
* Date Submitted: 11/01/2019
* Appeal Status: Submitted
* Description:
EOUSA appeal

This message is to notify you of a new appeal submission to the FOIAonline application. Appeal information is as follows:

* Appeal Tracking Number: DOJ-AP-2020-000604
* Request Tracking Number: EOUSA-2019-004562
* Requester Name: Emma Best
* Date Submitted: 10/29/2019
* Appeal Status: Submitted
* Description:
EOUSA appeal

The FOIA
appeal
- EOUSA-2020-000438 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:

* Tracking Number: EOUSA-2020-000438
* Requester: Emma Best
* Submitted Date: 11/07/2019
* Description:
see attached open appeal

The FOIA
appeal
- EOUSA-2020-000438 description has been modified. Additional details for this item are as follows:

* Tracking Number: EOUSA-2020-000438
* Requester: Emma Best
* Submitted Date: 11/07/2019
* Description:
see attached open appeal

The FOIA
appeal
- EOUSA-2020-000438 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:

* Tracking Number: EOUSA-2020-000438
* Requester: Emma Best
* Submitted Date: 11/07/2019
* Description:
see attached open appeal

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Your FOIAonline user account for requests@muckrock.com will be deactivated in 5 days due to inactivity.

Your FOIAonline user account for requests@muckrock.com has been deactivated due to inactivity.

Greetings:

Attached, please find a copy of the final response for Appeal DOJ-AP-2020-000604, dated 12/10/2019.

To obtain a status update for Request EOUSA-2019-004562, we recommend you reach out directly to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys FOIA Office. Contact information for that and other DOJ component FOIA offices may be found online at DOJ FOIA Contacts on Justice.gov<https://www.justice.gov/oip/find-foia-contact-doj/list> or DOJ FOIA Contacts on FOIA.gov<https://www.foia.gov/?id=0f2d33d4-234a-45a1-9655-8f482af498d8&type=agency>.

Sincerely,
OIP