81 State 341264 (National Archives and Records Administration)

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=NARA-NGC-2019-000006&type=request)
* Tracking Number: NARA-NGC-2019-000006
* Requester Name: Emma Best
* Date Submitted: 10/03/2018
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
A copy of State Department cable 81 state 341264.
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,
Emma Best

Dear Ms. Best:

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act request to the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) via *FOIAOnline*. We
received your request on October 3, 2018.

When you submit a FOIA request via *FOIAonline *to NARA it comes to the
Office of General Counsel. Our office only handles FOIA and Privacy Act
requests for the National Archives and Records Administration's
*operational* records (records created by this agency). Because your
*FOIAOnline* request is for a State Department created record that may be
an *archival* record (records that were created by or originated in a
*different
agency* but that may have been transferred to the legal custody of NARA),
we have forwarded it to our *Office of Research Services, Special Access
and FOIA* staff who handle FOIA requests for *archival* records.

Since the *Office of Research Services, Special Access and FOIA* does not
process FOIA requests through *FOIAOnline*, your request has been removed
from the *FOIAOnline* website and you will be assigned a new tracking
number by that office within the next 20 business days. If you would like
to follow up with that office directly, please contact them at the address
below, or electronically via email.

Special Access and FOIA Staff (RD-F)

8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500

College Park, MD 20740

By phone: 301-837-3190

By fax: 301-837-1864

By email: specialaccess_foia@nara.gov

When you submit a request for *archival* records you should identify the
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have that information, you may email the additional information to the
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For your reference, a copy of your request is below.

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Sincerely,
Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3409
susan.gillett@nara.gov

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <admin@foiaonline.gov>
Date: Wed, Oct 3, 2018 at 7:30 AM
Subject: FOIA Request Deletion: NARA-NGC-2019-000006
To: <susan.gillett@nara.gov>

Below is an export of the submitted request information for the FOIA
request NARA-NGC-2019-000006.

- *Name and Address*
- First Name: Emma
- Middle Initial:
- Last Name: Best
- Organization:
- Mailing Address Location: United States/U.S. Territories
- Address Line 1: MuckRock News, 411A Highland Ave
- Address Line 2: DEPT MR 61938
- City: Somerville
- State/Province: MA
- Zip/Postal Code: 02144
- *Contact Information*
- E-mail Address: requests@muckrock.com
- Phone Number:
- Fax Number:
- *Agency and Fee Information*
- Assigned Agency: NGC - Office of General Counsel
- Will Pay Up To: $0.00
- *Description*
- To Whom It May Concern:

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

A copy of State Department cable 81 state 341264.

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,

Emma Best
- *Fee Waiver*
- Fee Waiver Requested: Yes
- Fee Waiver Reason: 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
MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, AND Magazine,
Unicorn Riot,
and more. 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 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. Additionally, case law states that “proof of the ability to
disseminate the released information to a broad cross- section of the
public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of
Justice, 365 F.3d
1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.3d
807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified
because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document
sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy."
Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media.
Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the
nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the
request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. §
552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a
representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is
in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the
details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of
determining the
appropriate fee category. I request that fees be waived.
- *Expedited Processing*
- Expedited Processing Requested: No
- Expedited Processing Reason:

Dear Ms Best,

This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act request (RD 58896)
regarding State Department Cable "81 State 341264." Your request was
received by our office on October 11, 2018.

Department of State cables from 1981 have not yet been accessioned to the
Department of State. To request access to these records, please file a
FOIA request with the Department of State.

This concludes the processing of your request. If you are not satisfied
with our action on this request, your options for appeal and dispute
resolution are outlined in the attached enclosure.

Sincerely,

Cate Brennan

Archivist | Textual Reference Branch (RDT2)

National Archives at College Park