Bipartisan Letter Praises President Moreno's Reform Agenda and Calls for End to Assange Impasse (United States Agency for International Development)
| Tracking # |
F-00005-19 |
| Multi Request | Bipartisan Letter Praises President Moreno's Reform Agenda and Calls for End to Assange Impasse |
| Submitted | Oct. 17, 2018 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Materials mentioning or generated as a result of the drafting, consulting, commenting or reacting to the attached letter.
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, AND Magazine, Unicorn Riot, and more. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and and the journalist non-profit, MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.
Additionally, case law states that “proof of the ability to disseminate the released information to a broad cross- section of the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 365 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy." Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media.
Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category.
As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
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,
Emma Best
From: United States Agency for International Development
October 18, 2018 RE: USAID FOIA No. F-00005-19 (Acknowledgement Letter) Dear Ms. Best: Thank you for your letter dated October 17, 2018, requesting information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. The tracking number for your request is F-00005-19. Please use this number when corresponding with our office. At this time, we are in the process of perfecting your request. A perfected request for records reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed. This process includes reviewing the request for clarity and fee category determination and related commitment to pay, if applicable. Once your request is perfected, you will be notified of the FOIA Specialist assigned to process your case. If you have questions, please contact us at foia@usaid.gov. Please cite the above-referenced number when corresponding with our office. (mailto:foia@usaid.gov) Thank you. Sincerely, Qianna Norman FOIA Specialist
Bureau for Management
Office of Management Services
Information and Records Division
From: United States Agency for International Development
October 26, 2018 RE: USAID FOIA No. F-00005-19 (FOIA Specialist Assignment Email) Dear Ms. Best: This acknowledges receipt of your October 17, 2018, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Specifically, you requested materials mentioning or generated as a result of the drafting, consulting, commenting or reacting to the attached letter. You also requested a fee waiver. Fee Waiver
The FOIA provides that fees should be waived or reduced if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. As a member of the media, the only applicable fee is duplication. Duplication is $0.10 per page, but the first 100 pages are free. After review of the fee waiver criteria, your fee waiver request is moot. Since the only applicable fee is duplication, and USAID routinely furnishes responsive records to FOIA requesters in electronic format, it's most likely there will be no duplication fees to assess.
FOIA Specialist Your request has been assigned to
Pamela A-Campbell, FOIA Specialist. You may contact Pamela A-Campbell by email at parringtoncampbell@usaid.gov or by phone on 202-712-4476. Please reference the tracking number cited above in any future correspondence.
Qianna Norman FOIA Specialist
Bureau for Management
Office of Management Services
Information and Records Division
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 Oct. 17, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #F-00005-19.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: United States Agency for International Development
Hello Ms. Best:
Thank you for your email. Please contact your case's assigned FOIA
specialist, Ms. Pamela Arrington-Campbell, to receive a status update
regarding your request. Ms. Arrington-Campbell is CCed on this email. Thank
you for your continued patience.
Have a wonderful day.
V/r,
Qianna Norman
FOIA Specialist
USAID - US Agency for International Development
Bureau for Management, Office of Management Services, Information and
Records Division (M/MS/IRD) | Direct: 202-712-5295 | qnorman@usaid.gov
From: United States Agency for International Development
Dear Ms. Best:
The purpose of this email is to provide a status of your current FOIA
request. The program office has been tasked out as well as asked to
provide possible responsive documents. Unfortunately, I have not received
information as of yet. In the meantime, I am awaiting a more direct time
frame regarding receipt of a response to this request. My apologies for
the delay.
Pamela A-Campbell
Government Information Specialist (FOIA)
USAID U.S. Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
M/MS/IRD, Rm. 2.07-079, Washington, DC 20523
Direct: 202 712-4476 / Fax: 202 216-3070
parringtoncampbell@usaid.gov <psmith@usaid.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 Oct. 17, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #F-00005-19.
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 Oct. 17, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #F-00005-19.
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 Oct. 17, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #F-00005-19.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: United States Agency for International Development
Dear Ms. Best:
Attached is the final response. As this concludes the processing of your
request, it will be closed.
Pamela A-Campbell
Government Information Specialist (FOIA)
USAID U.S. Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
M/MS/IRD, Rm. 2.07-079, Washington, DC 20523
Direct: 202 712-4476 / Fax: 202 216-3070
parringtoncampbell@usaid.gov <psmith@usaid.gov>
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