AG Guidance

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,
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Initial Request Staff
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice

202-514-3642 (Main Line)

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>

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
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Valeree Villanueva
Supervisory Government Information Specialist &
FOIA Public Liaison
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642

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.

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Valeree Villanueva
Supervisory Government Information Specialist &
FOIA Public Liaison
Office of Information Policy
U.S. Department of Justice
202-514-3642