Attorney General Waivers of the TSDB Issued Under 58 FR 48452 § 23.20(o)

To Whom It May Concern:

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

This letter constitutes a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, on behalf of Targeted Justice Inc.
I request that a copy of the following documents [or documents containing the following information] be provided to Targeted Justice:
1. All documents by any Attorney General or his/her designee containing waivers to the “reasonable suspicion criteria” requirement to place individuals’ identities on the Terrorist Screening Database pursuant to 58 FR 48452 § 23.20(o)/ 28 CFR § 23.20 (o).
2. All documents by any Attorney General or his/her designee containing waivers to any and all requirements to place individuals on the Terrorist Screening Database, issued under the authority of 58 FR 48452 § 23.20(o)/ 28 CFR § 23.20 (o).
The term “document” is to be liberally construed to include any file, paper, microfilm, digital archive, or any other format where the information sought may be stored. The term “document” includes both the principal document responsive to the request as well as any studies, exhibits, supporting documentation or supplement thereof.
As you know, FOIA requires agencies to release information unless it is specifically exempt from disclosure, and also requires agencies to release all reasonably segregable nonexempt portions of documents, i.e., to redact exempt portions of documents and release the rest. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(8).
Targeted Justice's status as a news organization that provides information of public interest to its members warrants the expedited processing of this Request on the grounds that there is a compelling need for these records because the information requested is urgently needed by an organization primarily engaged in disseminating information in order to inform the public about actual or alleged Federal Government activity. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(E)(v)(II); see also 22 C.F.R. § 171.12(b)(2); 28 C.F.R. § n16.5(d)(1)(ii); 32 C.F.R. § 286.4(d)(3)(ii); 32 C.F.R. § 1900.34(c)(2).
Request for expedited processing
Targeted Justice currently has over 12,000 subscribers and over 130,000 thousand views a month in its Substack newsletter. Thus, pursuant to 47 CFR 0.466 it is a news media organization.
Targeted Justice also requests the expedited processing of this request on the grounds that the records and documents requested relate to a “breaking news story of general public interest”. Furthermore, they present a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence”. Expedited processing is warranted when “the information is relevant to a subject of public urgency concerning an actual or alleged Federal government activity” See 22 C.F.R. § 171.12(b)(2)(i); 32 C.F.R. § 286.4(d)(3)(ii)(A); see also 28 C.F.R. § 16.5(d)(1)(iv); 32 C.F.R. § 1900.34(c)(2).
In light of the above, Targeted Justice requests that your agency adheres to the legal mandate contained in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i); see 28 C.F.R. § 16.6(b), (c) and consequently produce within 20 days of receipt of this request the information sought.
Request for Fee Waiver
Targeted Justice hereby requests a fee waiver of search, review, and duplication fees on the grounds that disclosure of the requested records is “in the public interest because it is likely to significantly contribute to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii); see also 22 C.F.R. § 171.17(a); 28 C.F.R. § 16.11(k); 32 C.F.R. § 286.28(d); 32 C.F.R. § 1900.13(b)(2).
Furthermore, a waiver of search and review fees is warranted inasmuch as Targeted Justice will report the results of this endeavor on the grounds that Targeted Justice qualifies as a “representative of the news media” and that the records are not sought for commercial use. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii))(7); 32 C.F.R. §§ 1900.02(h)(3), 1900.13(i)(2).
For any document you fail to produce, Targeted Justice requests that you provide a Vaughn Index and declaration setting forth reasonably detailed explanations for each withheld document as to why it falls within any statutory exemption. See Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973). The Vaughn statement must specify details about each document's sender, recipients, date and time, and subject.
If you need to discuss this request, the undersigned can be reached at 832-247-3046. Thank you for your consideration of my request.
Sincerely,

Ana L. Toledo, Esq.
Targeted Justice, Inc.
P.O. Box 15990
Houston, TX 77220

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,

Targeted Justice