BlueLeaks (Oakland County Sheriff's Office)

Dear Emma Best:

Thank you for your interest in public records from Oakland County, Michigan. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, Public Act 422 of 1976, as amended, MCL. 15.231 et. seq. Your request was given the reference number F002902-063020 for tracking purposes.

Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

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

1. Documents mentioning, describing or generated in response to the BlueLeaks release, the preceding hack or subsequent fallout, including but not limited to:

* Damage assessments
* Emails
* Interagency communications (local, state, or federal)
* Communications with the press about BlueLeaks
* Communications with Twitter or other social media or sharing platforms

2. Documents mentioning or describing Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets)

You may limit this request to records generated between November 1, 2018 and the present.

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.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://accounts.muckrock.com/accounts/login/?url_auth_token=AAAg7Emh865P1RHrpfzqlSU8zBU%3A1jq8Rh%3AOKCl-P_P6MXzLxA75JJFAENAjqE&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.muckrock.com%2Faccounts%2Flogin%2F%3Fnext%3D%252Faccounts%252Fagency_login%252Foakland-county-sheriffs-office-4737%252Fblueleaks-oakland-county-sheriffs-office-96970%252F%253Femail%253Docso%252540oakgov.com

Your request will be forwarded to the relevant County department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the costs, if any, associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted when we determine if the records you requested are available and if there is a cost for you to obtain the records you requested.

PLEASE NOTE: The Michigan Freedom of Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information or answer questions.

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

Again, thank you for using the FOIA Records Center.

Oakland County, Michigan

--- Please respond above this line ---
06/30/2020
Emma Best MuckRock News DEPT MR 96970 411A Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144 requests@muckrock.com
RE: FOIA REQUEST of June 30, 2020, Reference # F002902-063020
Dear Emma Best:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request referenced above.
Your request for the following:
* Documents mentioning, describing, or generated in response to the BlueLeakes release, the preceding hack or subsequent fallout including damage assessments, emails, interagency communications, communications with the press about BlueLeaks, and communications with Twitter or other social media or sharing platforms from 11/1/2018 - 6/29/2020  is denied; there are no records responsive to your request. Documents mentioning or describing Distributed Denial of Secrets from 11/1/2018 - 6/29/2020 is denied; there are no records responsive to your request. YOUR FURTHER LEGAL RIGHTS
To the extent that this response, in your opinion, constitutes a denial of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rights, your statutory remedies are as follows:
For FOIA denials, you may submit to the head of the public body a written appeal that specifically states the word "appeal" and identifies the reason or reasons for reversal of the denial. Within 10 business days after the head of the public body receives a written appeal he or she will do one of the following:
* Reverse the denial.
* Issue a written notice to you upholding the denial.
* Reverse the denial in part and issue a written notice to you upholding the denial in part. Under unusual circumstances, issue a notice extending for not more than 10 business days the time to respond. You may begin a civil action in circuit court to compel the public body’s disclosure of the public records within 180 days after a public body’s final determination to deny a request.
You have the right to receive attorneys' fees and damages as provided in MCL 15.240 if, after judicial review, the court determines that the public body has not complied with MCL 15.235 and orders disclosure of all or a portion of a public record.
For fee appeals, if the public body requires a fee that, in your opinion, exceeds the amount permitted under its procedures and guidelines or MCL 15.234, you may submit to the head of the public body a written fee appeal for a fee reduction that specifically states the word "appeal" and identifies how the required fee exceeds the amount permitted. Within 10 business days after the head of the public body receives a written fee appeal, he or she will do one of the following:
* Waive the fee.
* Reduce the fee and issue a written determination to the requesting person indicating the basis for the remaining fee.
* Uphold the fee and issue a written determination to the requesting person indicating the basis for upholding the fee. If necessary, issue a notice extending for not more than 10 business days the time to respond. Within 45 days after the head of the public body issues a written determination on the fee appeal or if the head of the public body failed to respond to the fee appeal, you may begin a civil action in circuit court.
Oakland County’s FOIA Procedures and Guidelines, and its Public Summary, can be found at https://www.oakgov.com/FOIA (https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=nZGH0ylxadMp5hTpNkeAFhk2YybulXYVbVsBwB9OkZ-2FyQnejk6hAkjSPdBgDsWyCQ-UX_rP-2BdEZUcGiaxEBKAnRFjBzIb43eF6A7ml3Ppki2fcBp4Mw5Kek6U-2B98kjDDp2-2FA4ZgHcyR31a9uJm49snHKDd65loWeMJwxVRxemGxndNs75cK0WK5isw4Gzf1mjk7jV6hAM6BqSRm-2BErs4Rx0rfwDJ-2BbCUKOe9KkPoPhhSUZ39aYjnPizrNV-2FqfWoAr2MmQmKXDtPCMTORu4R94HAbbhS9eRmi7v7XLYNJgm57feMVfScY2F2Qbd3eD8yfbE-2Br6LsEIuCe6g5J-2FwU1L96QlcvGFF4c57j3I3MRHeHb7FCtSB3r4TRJus4GT755Fs4RGLyGkL-2FJGiSeG7DuUKU9RgM5qLJou25CLiF2hdPnbyJgH1n88CVK48Z31IceJsxGZlxwmfjxueQ0Gazlp87qCNA-3D-3D)
Sincerely,
Stephanie Lajdziak Sheriff's Office