Allen FOIA memo

Jimmy Tobias filed this request with the Bureau of Land Management of the United States of America.
Tracking #

FOIA 2018-00847

Est. Completion None
Status
No Responsive Documents

Communications

From: Jimmy Tobias


To Whom It May Concern:

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

This requests seeks any documents and written or electronic communications, including attachments, that were sent or received by former BLM communications director Michael Allen and that pertain to the agency's decision to begin sending FOIA requests to political appointees before releasing the results to the public. The agency's decision that I refer too was described in a recent New Yorker article, here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/21/trump-vs-the-deep-state This request seeks records produced between August 1, 2017 and the date this request is processed.

I am a reporter for Pacific Standard magazine.

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,

Jimmy Tobias

From: Bureau of Land Management

Good afternoon Mr. Tobias:

Our FOIA office received your FOIA request dated May 21, 2018 and assigned
it control number 2018-00847. Please cite this number in any future
communications regarding your request.

In your request you asked for the following:

" This requests seeks any documents and written or electronic
communications, including attachments, that were sent or received by former
BLM communications director Michael Allen and that pertain to the agency's
decision to begin sending FOIA requests to political appointees before
releasing the results to the public. The agency's decision that I refer too
was described in a recent New Yorker article, here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/21/trump-vs-the-deep-stateThis
request seeks records produced between August 1, 2017 and the date this
request is processed. "

We have classified you as an “other-use” requester. As such, we may charge
you for some of our search and duplication costs, but we will not charge
you for our review costs; you are also entitled to up to 2 hours of search
time and 100 pages of photocopies (or an equivalent volume) for free. See
43 C.F.R. § 2.39. If, after taking into consideration your fee category
entitlements, our processing costs are less than $50.00, we will not bill
you because the cost of collection would be greater than the fee collected.
See 43 C.F.R. § 2.49(a)(1).

We use Multitrack Processing to process FOIA requests. The Simple track is
for requests that can be processed in one to five workdays. The
Normal track is for requests that can be processed in six to twenty
workdays. The Complex track is for requests that can be processed in
twenty-one to sixty workdays. The Exceptional/Voluminous track is
for requests requiring more than sixty workdays for processing. The
Expedited track is for requests that have been granted expedited
processing. Within each track, requests are usually processed on a
first-in, first-out basis.

This request falls into the *Normal *track.

Even though we normally process requests on a first-in, first-out basis,
because of the nature of your request and the circumstances surrounding
this request, we will prioritize and process your request as the records
become available.

If you have any questions, please contact us at BLM_WO_FOIA@blm.gov or
202-912-7650. Thank you for your interest in public lands and in programs
and activities of the BLM.

[image: Inline image 1]
Washington Office FOIA Coordinators
Bureau of Land Management
Phone: 202-912-7650
Fax: 202-245-0027
*BLM_WO_FOIA@blm.gov <BLM_WO_FOIA@blm.gov>*

From: Bureau of Land Management

Due to the lapse in appropriations, no FOIA requests can be accepted or processed at this time.  When the lapse in appropriations is resolved, we will again be able to accept and process FOIA requests.

--
Washington Office FOIA Coordinators Bureau of Land Management Phone: 202-912-7650
Fax: 202-245-0027 BLM_WO_FOIA@blm.gov (mailto:BLM_WO_FOIA@blm.gov)

From: Jimmy Tobias

I filed this request more than six months ago, so the lapse in appropriations isn't relevant. Thanks!

Jimmy Tobias

From: Bureau of Land Management

Good afternoon Mr. Tobias,

Please see attached.

[image: Inline image 1]
Washington Office FOIA Coordinators
Bureau of Land Management
Phone: 202-912-7650
Fax: 202-245-0027
*BLM_WO_FOIA@blm.gov <BLM_WO_FOIA@blm.gov>*

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