FOIA - Communications with DoD/NSA regarding George Floyd protests (fixed)

Dear J:

Thank you for your interest in public records of the City of Saint Paul. Your Minnesota Government Data Practices open records request has been received and is being processed. Your request was received in this office on 6/1/2020 and given the reference number D014837-060120 for tracking purposes.

Record Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

On May 30th 2020, Minnesota officials held a presser on the protests in Minneapolis pertaining to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police. During this presser, Gov. Tim Walz explained how the state administration as well as the National Guard have been in touch with the Department of Defense and National Security Agency to explore options in undertaking Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) to obtain information on protesters in the area.

Here is a video excerpt from the broadcast of this presser: https://twitter.com/wsmith825/status/1266744367043100672 (archived link: https://archive.is/aX6iR ).

Pursuant to the the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I hereby request the following records:

- All transcripts, memos, and/or notes pertaining to any calls between any of your agency officials which included Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper
- All transcripts, memos, and/or notes pertaining to any calls between any of your agency officials which included Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley
- All internal emails, presentations, bulletins, memos, advisories, assessments, and/or analysis documents mentioning any of the following phrases (separated by comma): SIGINT, Signals Intelligence, Signal Intelligence, Signals Intel, Dept. of Defense, Department of Defense, DOD, DoD, D.O.D., National Security Agency, NSA, N.S.A.

I would like the time-frame for any responsive records for this request to be anything created from May 28th, 2020 to the date of this request (May 30th, 2020).

I am also requesting Expedited Processing for this request under Subsection 552(a)(6)(E) of the Freedom of Information Act. I believe this request both concerns a matter of current exigency to the American public as well as a significant recognized interest by the public, which a delay would quell. The matters relate to the ongoing surveillance of the American public under the U.S. Patriot Act and other legislative-based measures pertaining to Signals Intelligence.

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 10 business days.

Sincerely,

J Ader

You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed.

City of Saint Paul

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of June 01, 2020, Reference # D014837-060120
Dear J,
The City received a public information request from you on June 01, 2020. You requested: To Whom It May Concern:

On May 30th 2020, Minnesota officials held a presser on the protests in Minneapolis pertaining to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police. During this presser, Gov. Tim Walz explained how the state administration as well as the National Guard have been in touch with the Department of Defense and National Security Agency to explore options in undertaking Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) to obtain information on protesters in the area.

Here is a video excerpt from the broadcast of this presser: https://twitter.com/wsmith825/status/1266744367043100672 (archived link: https://archive.is/aX6iR ).

Pursuant to the the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I hereby request the following records:

- All transcripts, memos, and/or notes pertaining to any calls between any of your agency officials which included Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper
- All transcripts, memos, and/or notes pertaining to any calls between any of your agency officials which included Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley
- All internal emails, presentations, bulletins, memos, advisories, assessments, and/or analysis documents mentioning any of the following phrases (separated by comma): SIGINT, Signals Intelligence, Signal Intelligence, Signals Intel, Dept. of Defense, Department of Defense, DOD, DoD, D.O.D., National Security Agency, NSA, N.S.A.

I would like the time-frame for any responsive records for this request to be anything created from May 28th, 2020 to the date of this request (May 30th, 2020).

I am also requesting Expedited Processing for this request under Subsection 552(a)(6)(E) of the Freedom of Information Act. I believe this request both concerns a matter of current exigency to the American public as well as a significant recognized interest by the public, which a delay would quell. The matters relate to the ongoing surveillance of the American public under the U.S. Patriot Act and other legislative-based measures pertaining to Signals Intelligence.

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 10 business days.

Sincerely,

J Ader
The City reviewed its files and determined there are no responsive data to your request.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, you may contact my office at .
Sincerely,
Peter Leggett