Thomas Clines (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
| Tracking # |
1342526-001, DOJ-AP-2017-005623 |
| Submitted | Jan. 1, 2016 |
| Due | May 6, 2016 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Michael Best
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
Thomas Gregory Clines (August 18, 1928 - July 30, 2013), a Central Intelligence Agency covert operations officer who was a prominent figure in the Iran-Contra Affair and who was allegedly involved with EATSCO (the Egyptian American Transport and Services Corporation). His death has been widely reported http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-g-clines&pid=166167435&
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,
Michael Best
From: Sobonya, David P. (RMD) (FBI)
Dear Mr. Best,
The FBI has received your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy (FOIPA) request and it will be forwarded to Initial Processing for review. Your request will be processed under the provisions of FOIPA and a response will be mailed to you at a later date.
Requests for fee waivers and expedited processing will be addressed once your request has been assigned an FOIPA request number. You will receive written notification of the FBI’s decision.
Information regarding the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy is available at http://www.fbi.gov<http://www.fbi.gov>/, http://www.fbi.gov/foia/ or http://www.justice.gov/oip. If you require additional assistance please contact the Public Information Officer.
Thank you,
David P. Sobonya
Public Information Officer/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4286
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
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~WRD288
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
A letter stating the requester must agree to or prepay assessed or estimated fees in order for the agency to continue processing the request.
From: Michael Best
I would like to appeal the decision to assign me to the "all other" fee category, as I failed to provide sufficient information for a proper decision to be made.
The records will be added to the Internet Archive's National Security collection and FBI Files collection and made freely available in a number of formats, including PDF, Kindle and other e-book readers as they are distributed through Archive.org.
I will also use the files to produce original analysis as I have done in the past with national security and intelligence (http://andmagazine.com/us/1431865273.html). I continue to write and distribute my analysis on these issues, currently through an encyclopedia of the OSS (currently under contract) and future related projects.
Due to the important role that Thomas Clines has played in the Intelligence Community (IC) and U.S. history, I believe that the release and distribution of files relating to him will benefit the public by improving their understanding of how the government operates and of the individuals making up the IC.
From: OIP-NoReply
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored. To ensure a prompt reply, please direct any inquiries to the contact information listed in the correspondence provided to you. Thank you.
From: MuckRock
To Whom It May Concern:
Please accept this message as confirmation that necessary fees associated with this request will be paid. Please confirm receipt of this message and provide the appropriate destination for payment.
Thank you.
From: MuckRock
To Whom It May Concern:
Please accept this message as confirmation that necessary fees associated with this request will be paid. Please confirm receipt of this message and provide the appropriate destination for payment.
Thank you.
From: MuckRock
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $940 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 1, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1342526-001.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FOIPAQUESTIONS
Dear Mr. Best,
In response to your faxed request for the current status of FOIPA request number 1342526-001:
Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://www.fbi.gov and access the (Freedom of Information Act) link at the bottom of the page, or http://www.fbi.gov/foia, or https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps, and follow the instructions below.
Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is [1195846-0] please enter [1195846-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1195846-1] please enter [1195846-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>.
FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- LAST UPDATED ON May 11, 2016
Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]
FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA:
1234567-000
Case Type:
FOIPA
Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)
The FBI's FOIPA Program is searching the FBI's indices for potentially responsive documents.
You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.
NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.
Thank you,
Holly Early
Public Liaison/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4854
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail: foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov>
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>
Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia
Please check the status of your request online at http://www.fbi.gov/foia by clicking on the CHECK STATUS OF YOUR FOI/PA REQUEST under the FOIA INDEX located on the right side of the page. Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.
From: OIP-NoReply@usdoj.gov
DOJ-AP-2016-002012 has been processed with the following final disposition: Closed for other reasons -- Other -- Moot.
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Michael,
Good news – your Thomas Clines request is in the negotiation queue. I hadn’t noticed it because it’s still way down on the list. I really hope we can narrow the scope on that one. It’s an extra large case and if it stays at its current page count, it would likely be several years, realistically, before you begin receiving material. If you wouldn’t mind, please be thinking about what information on Clines would best suit your needs. We can have a chat about that in a week or so. I would like the opportunity to find something that would be helpful to you.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD398
From: Michael Best
Becki,
Why am I being contacted on the Thomas Clines request long after the Casolaro request?
Unfortunately, I need the complete file. He was one of the key figures in the Iran-Contra scandal and many other affairs.
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Michael,
The reason you were contacted about Casolaro first is that he hit the negotiation queue first and we work first in/first out. I hope you’ll reconsider narrowing the scope on Clines, though, because, like all of them, the larger the number of pages, the longer it takes to process.
Hope this is helpful.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD289
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 1, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1342526-001.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Mike,
I have another of your requests. There are 27,250 potentially responsive pages in this one. There are a couple of files that are really large and I suspect those are multi-subject. I usually recommend eliminating the multi-subject files because of the amount of third-party information in them. If you could give me a date range, we could start there, perhaps.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Becki
Rebecca Bronson
Records Management Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
540-868-1695
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Mike,
Just following up on this one too.
Thanks!
Becki
From: Michael Best
Unfortunately, I need this entire set. Thomas Clines as involved in illegal activity for much of his life, including when he was at CIA and was heavily involved in the Iran-Contra scandal.
From: Michael Best
There were 31,250 potentially responsive pages, but now only 27,250? Can you explain the discrepancy?
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Mike,
The first page count was an estimate. Once the file was received, the second page count is the actual.
Hope this helps,
Becki
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~WRD373
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
I should also add that these are potentially responsive pages – they haven’t been reviewed yet, so some of them may be determined to be unresponsive upon review.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD012
From: Michael Best
Thanks for clarifying!
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
A letter stating the requester must agree to or prepay assessed or estimated fees in order for the agency to continue processing the request.
From: Michael Best
As I previously specified last year, I am willing to pay these fees. Please proceed with release, as requested last year. Thanks!
From: Emma Best
I am appealing the Bureau's decision to close the request without providing the requested files or even providing notice that the request was closed (contrary to what the FDPS reading says), despite my agreement to pay all associated fees with the request as memorialized on the MuckRock request page. This is especially egregious given the fact that this was a high profile FOIA request which received media coverage in multiple countries.
From: OIP-NoReply@usdoj.gov
07/31/2017 11:25 AM FOIA Request: DOJ-AP-2017-005623
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
DOJ-AP-2017-005623 has been processed with the following final disposition: Affirmed on Appeal -- Fee-related reason.
From: JPat Brown
Our records indicate that a check for $940 was sent on March 29th, 2016. We are still interested in obtaining these records - if we provide the full duplication cost now, will the Bureau process the request?
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.