USMS: MCCAPS
| Tracking # |
2019USMS19-00351 2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2018-007872 2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271 |
| Submitted | June 29, 2016 |
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Communications
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
The administrative manual, handbook or other administrative document that contains specifications for the Marshals CALEA Collection and Processing System (MCCAPS).
Pursuant to this request, please search all computers and information systems including USMS enterprise IT systems, specialized computers, stand alone networks and personal email utilized for government business.
As this request is submitted in my capacity as a reporter who has covered the US Marshals and federal law enforcement, I assert that I am appropriately categorized as a media requester. I furthermore request that all fees be waived in the public interest.
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,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Wassom, Leila (USMS)
Good morning,
I have been assigned to process your FOIA request to the U.S. Marshals Service regarding MCCAPS. Attached please find a letter acknowledging your request.
Leila Wassom
FOI/PA Specialist
United States Marshals Service
Office of General Counsel
(202) 353-8310
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 June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Wassom, Leila (USMS)
Good morning,
An extensive search will be required to locate documents responsive to your request. In addition, FOIA requests are processed in order of receipt, and I have a backlog of requests received prior to yours. Therefore, it will be several months before you receive a response to your request.
Leila Wassom
FOI/PA Specialist
Office of General Counsel
(202) 353-8310
-
~WRD000
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 June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Wassom, Leila (USMS)
Good afternoon,
In response to your inquiry, the search for responsive documents is now being completed. FOIA requests are processed in order of receipt, and the request will be processed when its turn is reached.
Leila Wassom
FOI/PA Specialist
United States Marshals Service
Office of General Counsel
(202) 353-8310
-
~WRD000
From: Shawn Musgrave
Hi Leila -
Thank you. Do you have an estimated completion date?
Best,
Shawn
From: Wassom, Leila (USMS)
Good morning Shawn,
I cannot provide an estimate until the search is completed.
Leila
Leila Wassom
FOI/PA Specialist
United States Marshals Service
Office of General Counsel
(202) 353-8310
-
~WRD000
From: Wassom, Leila (USMS)
Good afternoon,
Attached please find the response to your request to the U.S. Marshals Service regarding MCCAPS.
Leila Wassom
FOI/PA Specialist
United States Marshals Service
Office of General Counsel
(202) 353-8310
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby appeal the US Marshals Service (USMS) response to my request filed under the Freedom of Information Act. This request was filed on June 29, 2016, and assigned tracking number 2016USMS30603.
Foremost, I appeal the adequacy of the search for this request. I requested the following documents: "The administrative manual, handbook or other administrative document that contains specifications for the Marshals CALEA Collection and Processing System (MCCAPS)."
In response, the USMS provided in a letter dated September 16, 2016 a single page, titled "MCCAPS Network Layout and Dataflow." Systems that require network layout and dataflow outlines typically also require other administrative documents such as those I requested herein for maintenance of the systems. It would be the exception for a network not to have a manual or other description for its operation. Furthermore, the USMS letter indicates that the search was limited to the Investigative Operations Division. While the IOD may (and likely does) have more documents responsive to this request, other administrative components of the USMS likely maintain documentation regarding this MCCAPS, as well.
I also appeal the extensive redaction of the single provided page. In its response letter, the USMS failed to adequately justify how a network layout and dataflow document identifies law enforcement techniques or procedures. Such a document is not covered by the b(7)(E) exemption in its entirety.
Given the above, I respectfully ask that this FOIA be remanded to the US Marshals for a good faith search and provision of responsive documents.
Best,
Shawn Musgrave
From: OIP-NoReply@usdoj.gov
10/19/2016 03:14 PM FOIA Request: DOJ-AP-2017-000271
From: OIP-NoReply@usdoj.gov
DOJ-AP-2017-000271 has been processed with the following final disposition: Partially affirmed & partially reversed/remanded.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
This request, copied below, has not received appropriate acknowledgment from your office. Such an update is severely overdue. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help. Let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
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 Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 29, 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 #2016USMS30603, DOJ-AP-2017-000271.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Justice, United States Marshals
Good morning,
Attached please find the response to the remand of FOIA Request 2016UMSS30603, DOJ-Ap-2017-000271.
Leila Wassom
FOI/PA Specialist
United States Marshals Service
Office of General Counsel
(703) 740-3972
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
I once again appeal the adequacy of the search conducted for this FOIA request, which the U.S. Marshals has assigned tracking number 2016USMS30603 (appeal number: DOJ-AP-2017-000271).
In June 2016, I requested the following records: The administrative manual, handbook or other administrative document that contains specifications for the Marshals CALEA Collection and Processing System (MCCAPS).
In September 2016, the U.S. Marshals provided a single responsive document, titled "MCCAPS Network Layout and Dataflow." Although the document is heavily redacted, its title and the two unredacted words ("MCCAPS Domain") suggest it is a database schema or other schematic for MCCAPS.
I appealed both the extensive redaction of this single document and the adequacy of the agency's search. As I noted, it would be the exception for a database to have only a single administrative document of the kind I have requested. The request was remanded back to the USMS for additional search in September 2017.
In its August 2018 response, the agency has responded simply, "No records were found."
I once again appeal the adequacy of the search for potentially responsive documents. As I wrote in 2016, systems that require network layout and dataflow outlines — such as the document already provided to me based on a search of the USMS Investigative Operations Division, which I've attached here for your reference — typically also require other administrative documents. Again, it would be the incredibly odd exception for a network not to have a manual or other documentation for its operation.
Furthermore, public documents cast doubt on the agency's claimed inability to find responsive documents. In a federal lawsuit filed against Sprint Communications, the Justice Department claimed Sprint billed the US Marshals $3,237,435 for "intercept charges" pursuant to CALEA (Pub. L. No. 103-414, 108 Stat. 4279 (1994)). (See attached complaint.) The database named in this FOIA request seems like precisely the database used to track CALEA requests to Sprint and other communications companies. It likely follows that MCCAPS was the source of the figure cited in the Justice Department's complaint.
A database tracking the fees charged by communications companies for each CALEA request simply must have a handbook, manual, or other administrative document that outlines both its specifications and operations. It strains credulity for the agency to assert otherwise.
As such, I once again ask that this request be remanded back to the US Marshals for a good faith search and provision of responsive documents in keeping with the agency's obligations under the FOIA.
Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Department of Justice, United States Marshals
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-2018-007872
* Request Tracking Number: 2016USMS30603
* Requester Name: Shawn Musgrave
* Date Submitted: 08/17/2018
* Appeal Status: Submitted
* Description: USMS appeal
From: Department of Justice, United States Marshals
The FOIA appeal DOJ-AP-2018-007872 has had its Tracking Number changed to DOJ-AP-2018-007872. This is normally due to the appeal being transferred to another agency (for example, EPA to Dept. of Commerce) or to a sub-agency to process it. Additional details for this appeal are as follows:
* Old Tracking Number: DOJ-AP-2018-007872
* New Tracking Number: DOJ-AP-2018-007872
* Requester Name: Mr. Shawn Musgrave
* Date Submitted: 08/27/2018
* Long Description: USMS appeal
From: Department of Justice, United States Marshals
see attachment
From: Department of Justice, United States Marshals
DOJ-AP-2018-007872 has been processed with the following final disposition: Affirmed on Appeal
From: Department of Justice, United States Marshals
An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.
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