access to the WWII Memorial during the Government shutdown (U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General )

To Whom It May Concern:

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

All legal opinions in October 2013 relating to the Honor Flights or access to the WWII Memorial during the Government shutdown.

For context, please see the following from ABC News:

The first busload of veterans arrived to a circus of media and members of Congress just after 11 a.m. Several members of Congress who were on hand opened the barricades, allowing the veterans access to the memorial. Since then, several hundred of them have passed through the gates.

According to the National Park Service, the memorial remains officially closed, but a statement released by the department states Honor Flight members will not be barred from entering the site.

"The Honor Flights are being granted access to the WWII memorial to conduct First Amendment activities in accordance with National Park Service regulations applicable to the National Mall and Memorial Parks," said National Park Service Spokeswoman Carol Johnson in a statement regarding the closure of World War II and other national memorials in DC. "This is consistent with the DOI Closure Determination and Notice issued on October 1, 2013."

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

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 2, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

I did send one to the NPS, but thought you may have records as well and sent this to your office on October 2nd. Can you please process it?

Thanks!