AG Guidance
Tracking # |
A-2023-00561 FOIA-2020-01225 |
Submitted | May 20, 2020 |
Due | June 18, 2020 |
Est. Completion | Sept. 1, 2022 |
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Communications
From: William Fernandes
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Please provide any documents published and or distributed from the Offices of the Attorney General to the Offices of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General which specifically rescind or alter the guidelines of the Inspector Generals Act.
For the following Offices:
William Barr
Jefferson Sessions
Eric Holder
Examples:
Orders to cease using the arrest features etc.
Orders to cease timely FOIA etc.
Reference: https://www.ignet.gov/sites/default/files/files/igactasof1010(1).pdf
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,
William Fernandes
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
Attached is correspondence from the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy, which is associated with the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored.
Thank you,
-----------------------------------------
Initial Request Staff
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642 (Main Line)
From: William Fernandes
Good day:
I was seeking a status update on this request:
FOIA-2020-01225
Copy of your acknowledgement dated June 16,2020 attached.
From: William Fernandes
I have not received a response on this FOIA in a very long time. Can you assist?
FOIA-2020-01225
Copy of acknowledgement dated June 16,2020 attached.
From: William Fernandes
I have not received a response on this FOIA in a very long time. Can you assist?
FOIA-2020-01225
Copy of acknowledgement dated June 16,2020 attached.
From: William Fernandes
Subject: Your FOIA Request FOIA-2020-01225
Just sending a follow up on this.
Best,
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
Good afternoon, this email is in response to your status inquiry below pertaining to your FOIA request FOIA-2020-01225. By letter dated June 16, 2020, this Office provided you with an acknowledgement letter where we have assigned your request to the complex track.
I want to assure you that your request FOIA-2020-01225 remains open in this Office. Insomuch as your request is seeking electronic records, it is currently pending a search within our eDiscovery queue. We utilize various tracks within our eDiscovery queue in order to prioritize our searches. Outside of certain specific matters (such as requests that have become the subject of litigation), our search queues are prioritized based on the number of records custodians being searched, as that is a leading factor on how long the eDiscovery search will take to be completed.
Your request currently requires a search of 37 records custodians within the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. Given our current eDiscovery backlog, our records search is currently estimated to take an additional six months. Again, this estimate is due to the number of eDiscovery requests in our backlog as opposed to any specific issue with the nature of your request. Should you be willing to further limit the number of records custodians, we would move your request to a higher priority search queue. For example, we could limit our records search to the electronic records of the Attorney General and Chief of Staff, which would place your request into one of our highest priority search queues. Again, this is just an example of a possible search alternative.
Unless advised otherwise by you, we will continue our processing with the understanding that you are interested in responsive electronic records, including emails, (to the extent such records exist) and records search accordingly. Thank you for your patience with this matter. Should you have any additional concerns, please contact our Office.
Georgianna Gilbeaux
Secretary II
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Ph: (202) 305-4015
georgianna.gilbeaux@usdoj.gov<mailto:georgianna.gilbeaux@usdoj.gov>
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 20, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 29, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 29, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
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 May 29, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA-2020-01225.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: William Fernandes
I haven't heard from Georgette in a long time on this FOIA. Can you assist.
Last response shown below.
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
06/11/2021
Subject: Your FOIA Request FOIA-2020-01225
Email
Good afternoon, this email is in response to your status inquiry below pertaining to your FOIA request FOIA-2020-01225. By letter dated June 16, 2020, this Office provided you with an acknowledgement letter where we have assigned your request to the complex track.
I want to assure you that your request FOIA-2020-01225 remains open in this Office. Insomuch as your request is seeking electronic records, it is currently pending a search within our eDiscovery queue. We utilize various tracks within our eDiscovery queue in order to prioritize our searches. Outside of certain specific matters (such as requests that have become the subject of litigation), our search queues are prioritized based on the number of records custodians being searched, as that is a leading factor on how long the eDiscovery search will take to be completed.
Your request currently requires a search of 37 records custodians within the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. Given our current eDiscovery backlog, our records search is currently estimated to take an additional six months. Again, this estimate is due to the number of eDiscovery requests in our backlog as opposed to any specific issue with the nature of your request. Should you be willing to further limit the number of records custodians, we would move your request to a higher priority search queue. For example, we could limit our records search to the electronic records of the Attorney General and Chief of Staff, which would place your request into one of our highest priority search queues. Again, this is just an example of a possible search alternative.
Unless advised otherwise by you, we will continue our processing with the understanding that you are interested in responsive electronic records, including emails, (to the extent such records exist) and records search accordingly. Thank you for your patience with this matter. Should you have any additional concerns, please contact our Office.
Georgianna Gilbeaux
Secretary II
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Ph: (202) 305-4015
georgianna.gilbeaux@usdoj.gov<mailto:georgianna.gilbeaux@usdoj.gov>
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
William Fernandes,
Good afternoon, I apologize for the oversight, your February 9, 2022 status inquiry was forwarded to me for response to you. By email communication on June 11, 2021, this Office estimated six months to complete the search of your request. We now have access to the records of the custodians of the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General; however, we are continuing to review potentially responsive records of the custodians. We will do so utilizing our ediscovery search platform that allows for more dynamic processing of the records once they are located. Accordingly, I need to extend this estimation for an additional five to six months for this FOIA request. While I understand the passage of time since this request was submitted, my updated estimate is based on our review of the number of custodians, as opposed to any issue with the nature of your request. Please note, this estimate is subject to change; however, if we can respond sooner, we will do so. Unless advised otherwise by you, we will continue our records search. Should you wish to discuss your request scope or have any additional questions or concerns, please contact this Office and we will work with you on your request.
Thank you,
Valeree Villanueva
-----------------------------------------
Valeree Villanueva
Supervisory Government Information Specialist &
FOIA Public Liaison
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642
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image001
From: William Fernandes
Thanks for your candor and response. I will disable the automatic follow-up and diary the request further out.
Best,
William
From: William Fernandes
Hi Valerie:
Just following up for a status on this.
Thanks,
WIlliam
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
William Fernandes:
Good evening, this communication is in response to your inquiry concerning FOIA request FOIA-2020-01225. In my communication sent on February 25, 2022, I estimated the search for FOIA-2021-01225 to be completed in five to six months, as we had received access to custodians' records. Currently, we are continuing to search for potentially responsive records of the custodians in the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General; accordingly, I am extending my estimation for completion of the search to be September 2022.
In an effort of facilitate our ability to respond to this request, you may want to narrow the parameters of the records search. Some requesters decide to limit their search to certain custodians or narrow the date range. The number of Department custodians subject to the records search and the broadness of the timeframe of the search are two significant factors in how long the records search takes to be completed.
Please be advised, you are not required to limit custodians or narrow the timeframe, I am only providing options, which might help facilitate our search. If you would prefer, I will provide the names of the custodians we are searching, and you may decide if there are any officials you do not want searched. Please let me know if you want this information sent to you.
If you are no longer interested in emails related to the topic of your request, it would significantly facilitate our ability to provide a response as we could limit our search to the Department Executive Secretariat, which maintains official correspondence on behalf of the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.
Once searching is completed, we will begin our review of the potentially responsive records, and we can provide an estimated date of completion, including communicating the possibility of any interim responses.
If you would like to further discuss your request, please feel free to contact our Office to discuss this matter. Thank you for your patience with this matter.
Best,
Valeree Villanueva.
-----------------------------------------
Valeree Villanueva
Supervisory Government Information Specialist &
FOIA Public Liaison
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642
From: William Fernandes
Hi Valerie:
I think that it would be an enriching experience to allow you to complete the search in its entirety.
Follow up after Labor Day.
Best,
William
From: William Fernandes
Hi Valeree:
Sorry to hear about family emergency. Hope all is well. Just wanted to circle back with you about this request. FOIA-2020-01225
Best,
William
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
The Office of Information Policy has received your FOIA Appeal. Please see the attached acknowledgment letter.
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
William Fernandes:
Good afternoon, excuse the delayed response and thank you for your kind words. I am including the FOIA Specialist, Amanda Toner, who is currently assigned and processing your request. They will review your inquiry and get back to you as soon as possible with a status update, since they have more information on the processing of this FOIA request. I appreciate your patience as we continue to process your request.
Thank you,
Valeree Villanueva
-----------------------------------------
Valeree Villanueva
Supervisory Government Information Specialist &
FOIA Public Liaison
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
Main: (202) 514-3642
From: Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
The Office of Information Policy has made its final determination on your FOIA Appeal Number A-2023-00561 . A copy of this determination is enclosed for your review, along with any enclosures, if applicable. Thank you.
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