Request to State Dept. for all communications with actor/director Sean Penn

Dear Brett Carollo:

Thank you for filing your information access request to the U.S. Department of State.  Your request number is F-2024-11109.
You will receive a formal acknowledgement to your request in no later than 10 working days.  If the Department requires additional information from you, then you will also be notified.
Should you have any questions about your request, you may also contact us at:
FOIAStatus@state.gov
Regards,
Requesters Communications Branch
Office of Information Programs and Services
U.S. Department of State

Dear Brett Carollo,

The status of your FOIA request #F-2024-11109 has been updated to the following status 'Received'. To learn more, please log into the DoS FOIA Portal via the Application URL below.

https://pal.foia.state.gov
Regards,
U.S. Department of State

*THIS EMAIL BOX IS NOT MONITORED, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. ** Dear Mr.Carollo: This email acknowledges receipt of your May 9, 2024, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. § 552) request received by the U.S. Department of State, Office ofInformation Programs and Services on May 9, 2024.  To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:All communications between the State Department and the Hollywood actor/director Sean Penn, born Sean Justin Penn on August 17, 1960, in Santa Monica, California. Such communications may include, but should not be limited to, emails, correspondence, memos, and transcriptions of telephone calls.I am the Director of Research Operations at a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization called The Decoding Culture Foundation. These documents will be used for public education and research purposes. I therefore request a waiver of all fees that may otherwise apply. Attached is a document with organization letterhead confirming my position, as well as the organization's 501(c)(3) application and approval form.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,Brett CarolloAttachments:https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/Brett-DCF/136512/FOIA_waiver_letter_5-7-24.pdfhttps://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/Brett-DCF/136512/501c3_application_and_approval.pdfUpload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/ (Date Range for Record Search: From 01/01/2013 To 05/09/2024).

You are seeking a copy of Unless you advise otherwise, we will treat as non-responsive anycompilations of publicly available news reports and any publicly availabledocuments not created by the U.S. government, such as mass-distribution emailsfrom news media.  This Office assigned your request the subjectreference number and placed it in the complex processing track where it will beprocessed as quickly as possible.  See 22 CFR § 171.11(h).
This Office will not be able to respond within the 20 daysprovided by the statute due to “unusual circumstances.”  See 5 U.S.C.§ 552(a)(6)(B)(i)-(iii).  In this instance, the unusual circumstancesinclude the need to search for and collect requested records from otherDepartment offices or Foreign Service posts.
If you have any questionsregarding your request, would like to narrow the scope or arrange analternative time frame to speed its processing, or would like an estimated dateof completion, please contact our FOIA Requester Service Center or our FOIA PublicLiaison by email at ortelephone at 202-261-8484.  Additionally, you may contact the Office ofGovernment Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and RecordsAdministration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of GovernmentInformation Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, email at (mailto:FOIAstatus@state.gov) FOIAstatus@state.gov ; telephone at202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. (mailto:ogis@nara.gov) ogis@nara.gov
**THIS EMAIL BOX IS NOT MONITORED, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TOTHIS EMAIL **