5 oldest FOIA requests (USNORTHCOM)

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All records referencing the five oldest FOIA and Privacy Act requests which are still being processed that contain remarks, comments, notes, explanations, etc. made by your personnel or contractors about the processing of these requests (and appeals, if appropriate), the invocation of exemptions, or related matters. This is to include any analysts' notes made during the processing of the requests, any standard worksheets completed by the analysts, any justifications for exemption invocations or other supporting documentation provided to the Appeals Authority, and any correspondence referencing the requests, including tasking orders, emails, and coordination documentation. However, any records previously released to the original requesters in unredacted form may be excluded from this request. Additionally, please provide the initial request letters for the 5 oldest open FOIA/PA requests.

When processing this request, please note that the D.C. Circuit has previously held that agencies have a duty to construe the subject material of FOIA requests liberally to ensure responsive records are not overlooked. See Nation Magazine, Washington Bureau v. U.S. Customs Service, 71 F.3d 885, 890 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Accordingly, you are hereby instructed that the term “record” includes, but is not limited to: 1) all email communications to or from any individual within your agency; 2) memoranda; 3) inter-agency communications; 4) sound recordings; 5) tape recordings; 6) video or film recordings; 7) photographs; 8) notes; 9) notebooks; 10) indices; 11) jottings; 12) message slips; 13) letters or correspondence; 14) telexes; 15) telegrams; 16) facsimile transmissions; 17) statements; 18) policies; 19) manuals or binders; 20) books; 21) handbooks; 22) business records; 23) personnel records; 24) ledgers; 25) notices; 26) warnings; 27) affidavits; 28) declarations under penalty of perjury; 29) unsworn statements; 30) reports; 31) diaries; or 32) calendars, regardless of whether they are handwritten, printed, typed, mechanically or electronically recorded or reproduced on any medium capable of conveying an image, such as paper, CDs, DVDs, or diskettes.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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,

Jason Smathers

Hello,

The FOIA request below was submitted in December 2010, but according to our records never completed. Please advise?

Please note the change in MuckRock's address:

MuckRock News
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Thank you.

Hello,

No case number was provided -- please begin processing.

Thank you.

Hello,

As MuckRock has explained numerous times to USNORTHCOM, MuckRock requests are separate entirely from each other, not only in terms of subject matter but also by respective submitters. The purpose of MuckRock is to assist our users in submitting requests -- in almost every case, users are not our agents or employees. You'll note that FY13-30AUG2013-105 was submitted by MuckRock user Jason Smathers, while FY13-06MAY2013-NNC49 was submitted by MuckRock user Michael Morisy.

As they were submitted by separate individuals, it is altogether inappropriate for you to administratively close the request of one MuckRock user because of payments owed by another. Mr. Smathers does not owe any fees for records -- you must reopen his request at once and begin processing it, particularly in light of the fact that it is more than two years overdue since its original submission.

MuckRock will respond to issues of payment owed on FY13-06MAY2013-NNC49 under separate email through the appropriate inbox, as it has absolutely no connection to this request whatsoever.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Hello,

The submitter of this request is Jason Smathers. As a MuckRock employee, Shawn Musgrave has intervened to clarify issues and to liase between Mr. Smathers and USNORTHCOM, but Mr. Musgrave is not the requester.

The correct address for this request is:

MuckRock News
Dept MR318
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

The Somerville address was current when the request was originally submitted two years ago.

Answers to fee waiver questions below:

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(a) How do the records concern the operations or activities of the government?

The requested records reflect the activities of USNORTHCOM's FOIA office. Specifically, they indicate workflow and efficiency of that office.

(b) Given the records concern the operations or activities of the government, how will disclosure likely contribute to public understanding of these operations and activities?

These records will help future FOIA requesters better gauge the realistic amount of time USNORTHCOM takes to process FOIA requests.

(c) If there is likely to be a contribution to public understanding, will release of the requested records contribute significantly to public understanding?

Yes, release of these records will contribute significantly to public understanding, as MuckRock will publish them in full for its users and any other interested FOIA requester.

(d) Would disclosure be primarily in your commercial interest?

No -- the disclosure is primarily in the interest in transparency and government openness.

(e) Do you have the ability and intention to disseminate the information to the general public or a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject?

Yes: the requested records will be published in full on the MuckRock website.

(f) How and to whom do you intend to disseminate the information?

Yes: the requested records will be published in full on the MuckRock website. The requested records will be available to all vistors to that site without any fee.

(g) How do you plan to use the information to contribute to public understanding of the Government's operations or activities?

The requested records will be published in full on the MuckRock website as part of a series of requests to a number of federal agencies' FOIA offices, in an effort to compare their responsiveness and track record on FOIA requests.

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Thank you for considering the above fee waiver request, and for sorting out the confusion over this request.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 21, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #FY13-30AUG2013-NNC105.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 21, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #FY13-30AUG2013-NNC105.

Thank you for your help.