C. Boyden Gray
| Tracking # |
A-2023-01641 1593177-000 |
| Submitted | May 23, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Nicholas Marritz
Dear FBI:
This is a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act.
RECORDS REQUESTED
All records related to Clayland Boyden Gray. Mr. Gray was a lawyer and diplomat who served as White House Counsel from 1989 to 1993 and as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union from 2006 to 2007. He was born on 6 February 1943 in Winston-Salem, NC, USA. He died on 21 May 2023.
PROOF OF DEATH
Obituaries for Mr. Gray appeared in numerous national media, including the New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/obituaries/c-boyden-gray-dead.html and the Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/05/21/c-boyden-gray-white-house-counsel-president-ghw-bush-dies-80/.
CROSS-REFERENCE SEARCH
Please conduct a cross-reference search of your files on the following people and organizations to see if they contain additional records related to Mr. Gray:
(1) President George Herbert Walker Bush, to whom the subject served as White House Counsel
(2) Chief Justice Earl Warren, to whom the subject was a law clerk
(3) The Atlantic Counsel, on whose board the subject served
(4) The European Institute, on whose board the subject served
(5) FreedomWorks, on whose board the subject served
(6) The Federalist Society, of which the subject was a member
REQUEST FOR FEE WAIVER
I respectfully request that all fees related to this request be waived.
Public Interest Factors:
1. The subject of the request must concern identifiable operations or activities of the Federal Government. My request satisfies this factor because it seeks records created or maintained by the FBI.
2. The records must be likely to contribute to the understanding of the subject of the request. My request satisfies this factor because Mr. Gray has recently died, so the Bureau may now be able to release records that were not previously available via the FOIA/PA.
3. The disclosure must contribute to the understanding of the public—meaning a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject—as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester. My request satisfies this factor because Mr. Gray was a public figure. He served as White House Counsel to George H. W. Bush and was the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. News obituaries for Mr. Gray appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other national media. Thus, a broad audience of persons will likely be interested in the records I seek. I will also make any records available online for free via muckrock.com, a FOIA-and-journalism site that lets people share the results of their FOIA requests and encourages journalism around them.
4. The public's understanding must be enhanced by the disclosure to a significant extent. My request likely satisfies this factor because Mr. Gray has recently died—meaning that the Bureau can now release responsive records that it could not have released until now. Given Mr. Gray's government service as a high-level advisor and employee in the executive and judicial branches, the public's understanding of Mr. Gray, his work, and the work of the government will likely be enhanced significantly.
Commercial Interest Factors
1. The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: I have no commercial interest whatsoever in these records; I am just an inquisitive citizen. Thus, this factor cuts in favor of a fee waiver.
2. The primary interest in disclosure, i.e., whether disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester: I have zero commercial interest in disclosure, therefore the public interest outweighs my (nonexistent) private interest.
Conclusion:
On balance, all of the Bureau's regulatory factors tilt decisively in favor of granting me a fee waiver. If you do decide to charge me fees, please notify me in advance if you anticipate that those fees will exceed $25.
Thank you for your timely attention to this request.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
From: Nicholas Marritz
Dear OIP:
I hearby appeal the Bureau's denial of my request for a fee waiver for my FOIPA Request No. 1593177-000 .
1. The Bureau states that my request failed to meet at least one of the four public interest factors, but it does not say which factor or factors I failed to satisfy or why. This alone is reason enough to reverse the Bureau's decision, because it makes it impossible for the requestor to meaningfully respond to the denial—rendering the denial arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and a denial of due process.
2. My request meets the legal standard for a fee waiver. The subject of the request was a public figure, with news obituaries of his death appearing in major newspapers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. Responsive records will be of great interest to historians, political scientists, scholars, the legal academy, and many others. I am making this request via MuckRock.com, which will automatically make all responsive records available to the general public for free. There is simply no reason to deny this fee waiver.
3. I incorporate by reference the additional arguments I made in my initial request for a fee waiver.
Thank you for your consideration of this appeal.
Most sincerely,
Nicholas Marritz
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Office of Information Policy has received your FOIA Appeal. Please see the attached acknowledgment letter.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
You can download the files at:
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/4jz0gWlL07fqbaB/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490.pdf)
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145226.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/Xur8QH899fjM1Uf/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145226.pdf)
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145357.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/rlk1uG6vpDQmNo5/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145357.pdf)
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145426.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/s7U3KPwa9pbgDV3/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145426.pdf)
**Please Note:**
The above link(s) are only active for 48hrs. After the link expires you will
have the option to reactivate the link(s) for an additional 48hrs. The max
renewal limit is two (2) times. Thereafter, the links can no longer be
accessed.
You can renew the download files by logging into the efoia system and clicking
the "Renew" button in the file list.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Office of Information Policy has made its final determination on your FOIA Appeal Number A-2023-01641 . A copy of this determination is enclosed for your review, along with any enclosures, if applicable. Thank you.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
You have successfully requested access to FBI's eFOIPA website.
Please access the efoia.fbi.gov by following this temporary authorization url:
<https://efoia.fbi.gov/authorize/82fe2b492e5ba3d64ae89517f4a4d82ff93e794cd4b17432a8>.
From: Muckrock Staff
Hello,
Thank you for your continued partnership on this request. Please know that we were unable to view the following document: E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490.pdf.
All others were able to be viewed and downloaded. If you can send the document in an attachment or refresh the download again, that would be most appreciated. We had attempted to renew the download on your website, but it still did not work.
Thank You,
MuckRock Staff
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
You can download the files at:
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/4jz0gWlL07fqbaB/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490.pdf)
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145226.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/Xur8QH899fjM1Uf/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145226.pdf)
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145357.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/rlk1uG6vpDQmNo5/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145357.pdf)
* [E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145426.pdf](https://efoia.fbi.gov/download-file/submission-7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165/s7U3KPwa9pbgDV3/E7f35da3ed17ff6f9f0db1530341e94ea9c371165_Q187220_D165046490_20230804_145426.pdf)
**Please Note:**
The above link(s) are only active for 48hrs. After the link expires you will
have the option to reactivate the link(s) for an additional 48hrs. The max
renewal limit is two (2) times. Thereafter, the links can no longer be
accessed.
You can renew the download files by logging into the efoia system and clicking
the "Renew" button in the file list.
**
Please be advised that efoia@subscriptions.fbi.gov is a no-reply email
address. Questions regarding your FOIA request may be directed to
foipaquestions@fbi.gov.
You may check the status of your FOIPA request on the FBI’s electronic FOIA
Library (The Vault) on the FBI’s public website, http://vault.fbi.gov by
clicking on the "Check the Status of Your FOI/PA Request tool" link. Status
updates are performed on a weekly basis.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Good afternoon,
The PDFs have been re-uploaded and are now available. You should have received an email with links for the documents listed below.
The link(s) are only active for 48hrs. After the link expires you will have the option to reactivate the link(s) for an additional 48hrs. The max renewal limit is two (2) times. Thereafter, the links can no longer be accessed.
You can renew the download files by logging into the EFOIA system and clicking the "Renew" button in the file list.
Public Information Officer
FBI - Information Management Division
200 Constitution Drive
Winchester, VA 22602
O: (540) 868-4593
E: foipaquestions@fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@fbi.gov>
Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia
Please check the status of your request online at https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.
Note: This is a non-emergency email address. If this is an emergency, please call 911 directly. If you need to report a tip for immediate action, please contact FBI Tips at http://tips.fbi.gov/ or reach out to your local field office.
-
~WRD3443
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
You can download the files at:
**Please Note:**
The above link(s) are only active for 48hrs. After the link expires you will
have the option to reactivate the link(s) for an additional 48hrs. The max
renewal limit is two (2) times. Thereafter, the links can no longer be
accessed.
You can renew the download files by logging into the efoia system and clicking
the "Renew" button in the file list.
Files
pages