Chief FOIA officer's desktops (Transportation Security Administration)

Submitted on Monday, August 5, 2019 - 03:14
Submitted by user: Anonymous
Submitted values are:

Select the DHS component you wish to submit your request to: :
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Title:
First Name: Sai
Middle Initial:
Last Name: Sai
Suffix:
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com
Country: United States
Address 1: MuckRock News, DEPT MR 78484
Address 2: 411A Highland Ave
City: Somerville
State: Massachusetts
Zip Code: 02144
Telephone Number: 6172991832
Fax Number:
Are you requesting records on yourself? No
If yes, you must check the perjury statement:
By initialing here you are providing your electronic signature.:
Please describe the records you are seeking as clearly and precisely as
possible:
Dear Transportation Security Administration:

This letter is a formal Freedom of Information Act request for the following
records.

This request covers every Transportation Security Administration component,
including component agencies, departments, offices, OIGs, etc., that has a
Chief FOIA Officer, Chief Privacy Officer, or substantially equivalent
position. See "# Forwarding; multi-agency / multi-component records" below.

Please note that this request imposes an affirmative obligation to take
immediate steps to preserve responsive records against spoliation, including
both any automated or routine record deletion and any act by an employee to
delete such records.

This is an explicit evidence preservation demand, and the documents sought
relate to ongoing and/or currently contemplated litigation.

Again, please note that this request is directed at BOTH Transportation
Security Administration itself, and ALL components thereof, including any
component agencies.

At your discretion, you may either apply only a single tracking number for
the whole request tree (acting for all subcomponents), or each subcomponents
may apply its own tracking numbers.

In either case, you are expected to strictly comply with 5 USC 552(a)(6) and
(a)(7).

In particular, you are expected to provide notice (by email) of all referrals
made, and any other tracking numbers of which you are aware.

This request is part of an all-agency FOIA audit. Your performance will be
tracked, analyzed, and published.

Any unlawful patterns or practices discovered in the course of this audit
will be highlighted for public shaming, and will likely be litigated for
permanent injunctions.

Any particularly good performance will, by the same token, be highlighted for
public praise.

A. Chief FOIA Officers' desktops

I hereby request:

1. for the component's
a) Chief FOIA Officer,
b) Chief Privacy Officer, and
c) any substantially equivalent component official

("Officer"):

2. the entire content of
a) the Officer's physical desktops, i.e. everything on the actual desk(s)
where they work

I) including all other office surfaces, e.g. cabinets, tables, in/out boxes,
shelves, etc in the Officer's office(s)

II) excluding:
i) computers (including desktop, laptop, and phone);
ii) USB drives;
iii) generic office supplies, i.e. any item that could be purchased off the
shelf at a store such as Office Depot in identical form by a member of the
general public;
iv) tear-off daily flip calendars;
v) purely personal capacity items;
vi) keys;
vii) anything within a fully enclosed hard sided container (e.g. exclude the
contents of a desk / cabinet drawer, lockbox, or picture frame — but
envelopes laying on a desk [and their contents], items in open-ended
organizers, etc are not excluded);
viii) books or hard-bound booklets, except for the front and back covers; and
ix) CDs or DVDs, except for the label (i.e. what is captured when you place
the disc on a flatbed scanner); and

III) formatted as 600 DPI color scans to PDF, one PDF per item (named
logically based on the item), run through Adobe Acrobat Pro's "enhance
scanned PDF" tool with the settings:
* recognize text on
* all pages
* apply adaptive compression: grayscale JPEG2000, monochrome JBIG2
(lossless), maximum quality
* output: searchable image, document language set to the document's actual
language
* filters: deskew on, background removal off, descreen off, text sharpening
off;

and

b) the Officer's computer desktop(s), i.e. the "desktop folder" of their
account on every computer that they use in official capacity

I) in the exact original file format as stored on the computer, encapsulated
into a .ZIP or .TAR.GZ archive set to preserve all metadata and folder
structure;

3. as the above exist at the time anyone in the component first learns of
this request.

(I.e., no clearing out the desk before searching it. You may of course
continue to use the office normally, but this request creates a hold for its
exact content at that one snapshot in time.)

4. For hold preservation validation purposes, please take and provide digital
photos of the Officer's entire office, showing all items in plain view at the
time this request was received.

The search time for this request should be zero, since all responsive records
are literally already in plain view in the Officer's office.

This request is very clearly delineated such that search should be easy and
the locations of records clearly identified.

If you would like to negotiate terms, we are open to doing so, but only if
you provide actual reasons, not conclusory and inapposite statements.

###
Fiat Fiendum FOIA template
Version 5.0
###

# FOIA template structure

All content after the version number line above, except for the contact
details at the very end, is part of my standard FOIA request template and
identical between all of my FOIA requests. The provisions below are generally
applicable to all FOIA / Privacy Act requests that I make.

There is one exception: the contact details below my signature at the very
bottom (provided by MuckRock) are different for each request. Please use the
distinct contact details matching each request, to ensure that your responses
are correctly tracked.

The template provisions specify e.g. additional requests relating to my
FOIA/PA requests themselves, form and format, timing, redaction & review,
rolling updates, § 508 compliance, identity, fee waiver, my identity, and
the like. They apply to this request, but are not specific to it.

If anything in the request-specific section above explicitly overrides
anything in this template section, the request-specific section controls. If
there is any ambiguity about such an override, please ask me for
clarification.

The version number above is provided to make it easier for you to process my
requests. Since all content (except contact info) below identical version
number lines is identical between my requests, you need track only the
request-specific portions (at the top) and the latest version of my general
provisions.

Please read each new version carefully, as updates generally contain
substantive changes.

## Template version updates

If you receive any FOIA request from me with a newer template version number
than any pending prior FOIA requests from me, please replace the template
portion of all prior requests with the updated version, treat the update as a
clarification of and/or extension to the prior request, and process each
updated request accordingly. Do not close the original request or change its
request date. If you are permitted by law to refuse to honor such an update,
and you choose to exercise that refusal, please process any differences
between the new version and the prior version as a new FOIA request in its
own right.

# Additional FOIA requests

In addition to the records specified in the request-specific section above, I
also request:

B. all records relating to the fulfillment of this request, such as FOIA
logs, documentation of searches, referral emails, etc.

This part of the request is to be processed only after you have completed
processing all of the above parts. This part does not request that you create
any new record; rather, it requests the records that you will have created in
processing the above parts, and will therefore exist before you conduct the
search for this part. See McGehee v. CIA, 697 F. 2d 1095, 1100-05 (D.C. Cir.
1983) (agency must use time-of-search cut-off date, not time-of-request).

C. all records relating to any complaint(s), FOIA request(s)/appeal(s),
and/or Privacy Act request(s)/appeal(s) made by me. This includes, but is not
limited to:
1. all records relating to the processing my previous requests, complaints,
etc;
2. all records containing the terms my name, email address(es), and other
contact or identifying information, listed below my signature; and
3. all records containing any of my complaint, request or appeal identifiers.

Parts (B) and (C) must be processed only after you have processed the items
above that line, i.e. such that at the time of the search, the records
described will have already been created at the time you conduct the search.
Part (C) must be processed after part (B) is completed.

Parts (B) and (C) may overlap with similar prior requests. However, the
cut-off date is, at earliest, the date that you complete search on all of the
above items. If you wish to administratively merge this request with a prior
similar request, I consent on condition that you extend the cut-off date for
the prior request, and provide rolling updates. Otherwise, you must treat
this as a new request.

For all responsive records, I also request:

D.
1. all parts of the record (i.e. no portion of a record with some responsive
portion may be considered "non-responsive");
2. all versions of the record, whether or not currently in use;
3. all record metadata, such as dates on which they were drafted, passed,
went into effect, withdrawn, or similar events; person(s) / office(s)
responsible; authors; IDs; revision numbers; etc.;
4. a detailed index of all claims of exemption/privilege, regardless of
whether the record is claimed to be exempt in whole or in part;
access to inspect the record directly, in its native electronic format; and
5. if any classification applies, mandatory declassification review (MDR)
under E.O. 13526, and the result of the MDR, including any declassified
records.

"All parts of the record" means that the "record" should be considered to be
the most comprehensive record with any responsive portion. For instance:
a) if any portion of an email is responsive, the entire contents of all email
thread(s) to which that email belongs is also responsive (including
attachments);
b) if a record is part of a larger record, such as a responsive table that is
in a chapter of a report, then the entire larger record (e.g. the full
report) is responsive, together with any appendices, amendments, etc.;
c) if a record is part of a book, the entire book is responsive;
d) if a record is part of a database, all related database records are
responsive;
etc.

"Related database records" has the technical meaning used in relational
database management systems (such as SQL). It recursively includes all
directly and indirectly related records (starting with all responsive
records, include as responsive the full row of each, and recursively include
as responsive all rows for which any responsive record has a foreign key or
is referenced by a foreign key), together with the schema for all responsive
records.

Items in part (D) should be prioritized at the same level as the record they
apply to.

# Timing

For all requests above, the "cut-off date" is, at the earliest, the date that
you conduct the search.

The priority order listed above is only for items that may take extra time to
respond to, and must not be taken as blocking response to an otherwise lower
priority item that could be released more quickly than a higher priority item
that is pending time-intensive search or review.

# FOIA IA notice

Please note that this request is made after the enactment of Public Law No.
114-185, S. 337 (114th), the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 (FOIA IA). The
revised statute, as specified in the FOIA IA, applies to this request. FOIA
IA § 6.

In particular, please note that:
1. you must provide electronic format documents, §§ 552(a)(2) (undesignated
preceding text), 552(a)(2)(E) (undesignated following text), 552(a)(3)(B),
and 552(a)(3)(C);
2. you may not specify an appeal duration less than 90 days, §
552(a)(6)(C)(A)(i)(III)(aa);
3. you may not withhold any record unless "the agency reasonably foresees
that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption described in
subsection (b), or disclosure is prohibited by law", § 552(a)(8)(A)(i);
4. you must segregate and partially release records where possible, §§
552(a)(8)(A)(ii) and 552(b) (undesignated matter following (b)(9)); and
5. you may not claim deliberative process exemption for records more than 25
years old, § 552(b)(5).

# "Record" defined

For the purposes of this request, except as otherwise specified, "record"
means any agreement, appendix, application, assessment, attachment,
checklist, circular, contract, correspondence (including but not limited to
email), data management plan, documentation of search parameters, email,
email attachment, form, guide, handbook, index of records, information
consent agreement, information sharing agreement, instruction,
interpretation, kit, management instruction, manual, memorandum, memorandum
of understanding, notice, notification, opinion, order, plan, policy, policy
statement, processing note, publication, recording, referral, report, request
certification form, request detail report, response, rule, script, standard
operating procedure, submission, talking point, training document, video, or
related record described, regardless of publication status.

# Anti-duplication exclusion

This request specifically excludes providing me with new copies of any
records which have been already provided to me or published online for free
(e.g. on the agency's online "reading room"), in full or identically to the
form that would be provided to me under this request (i.e. with exactly the
same format, redactions, and claimed exemptions).

This is only an exclusion on providing records under this request that are
identical to those already provided to me or available online, and only if I
am or have already been provided a link to the online version (if "available
online").

This exclusion is only intended to limit unnecessary duplication or
provision, not to limit what records are responsive to this request, nor to
permit failure to disclose the location of a responsive record available
online. If this exclusion would in any way increase the cost or duration to
respond to this request, it is to be ignored to the extent it does so.

This request is to be treated as separate from all others that I have filed.

# Forwarding; multi-agency / multi-component records

Please forward this request to the FOIA office of every agency component and
subcomponent that may have responsive records for independent processing,
with a copy to me.

This request includes any records held jointly by your agency in conjunction
with any other agency and/or department, in interagency and/or
interdepartmental systems of records, or by other agencies or third parties
(including contractors) acting pursuant to any agreement with your agency.

# Minimal redaction

Please note that the FOIA requires you to service the maximum extent of my
request that can be done via e.g. partial redaction of exempt material. If
you believe some portions of a record to be exempt because it contains
Sensitive Security Information (SSI, 49 CFR 15 & 1520) or classified
information (18 USC 798), please provide a version of the record redacted to
the minimum extent necessary to remove exempt information (e.g. per 49 CFR
1520.15), along with adequate information to describe the reason for each
specific exemption.

## Redaction of repeatedly occurring content

When redacting any content that appears more than once in the full set of
responsive records, please assign a replacement identifier for each, so that
your redaction does not obfuscate the commonality.

For example, suppose that responsive records include the names Alice, Bob,
Charlie, and Diego, and you determine that each of those names are redactable
(e.g. under (b)(7)(C)). Rather than redacting each with only the text
"(b)(7)(C)", replace each instance of "Alice" with "(b)(7)(C) - Person 1",
each instance of "Bob" with "(b)(7)(C) - Person 2", etc. This e.g. withholds
Alice's identity while not withholding the fact of commonality between
occurrences.

Please use reasonably descriptive identifiers. For instance, if Elizabeth's
name is not redacted but her personal cellphone number is, and that cellphone
number appears e.g. both in her email signature and elsewhere by itself, it
should in both cases be redacted with the same descriptive identifier, such
as "[Alice's cell #]". For documents, this can be specified in the margins.
If space or file format does not permit you to do so, then please use a short
code (e.g. "[#52]", and provide a table matching codes to full identifiers in
your response letter.

If you make any such redactions, please keep but do not provide a table
matching codes/identifiers to the redacted content, for use in case your
redaction is examined or overturned on appeal or in litigation.

This is a form and format request pertaining to your process of redaction.
Because it only applies in situations when you have already exercised the
voluntary decision to alter the records from the original form requested, you
have necessarily waived any objection to this section "creating a new
record", since your act of redaction itself already "makes a new record" in
that limited sense. This is only about how you do a redaction you have
already decided to make.

This provision limits the scope of your redaction to the minimum possible
extent, so that even if you decide to withhold some particular piece of
content, you do not also withhold the fact of its being the same as the same
content appearing elsewhere. That fact is itself metadata that is explicitly
requested as part of this request.

If you decide that the mere fact of two pieces of content being the same is
itself withholdable, then please redact it using an identifier that encodes
only the reason, and provide a table matching those reason-only identifiers
to justifications in your response letter.

# Estimates and rolling updates

In order to help tailor my request, please provide an upfront estimate of the
time and cost it will take to complete this request, broken down any
significant factors that would affect cost to service, number of records in
each category, and your estimate of how many records in the category are
likely to be exempt.

Please provide me with incremental updates, with updated estimates for
fulfillment of the remainder, rather than having the entirety of the request
be blocked until fully completed.

# No new records; electronic & original format

This request does not ask you to create new records.

If you determine that a response would require creating a new record that you
do not want to create, please first contact me by email with an explanation
of what records you have that would most closely match the information
requested and might be acceptable substitutes, so that we can reasonably
tailor the request.

In particular, I specifically request that you do not create new documents in
response to this request that are modifications of a digital record, such as
page-view images, print views, scans, or the like. No such creation or
substitution is authorized by FOIA or the Privacy Act.

However, if the same or similar records are held in both electronic and paper
formats, this request includes both the paper and electronic versions. The
paper version and the digital version are distinct records, and each may
contain distinct information such as handwritten or other markings on the
paper copy and embedded metadata in the electronic version.

I specifically request both the original, electronic format record, and (if
it contains any additional markings) the paper record.

To the extent that the native electronic format is proprietary or otherwise
not in format accessible by widely available, open source software, I also
request
1. an export of the proprietary format into a standard, open format, as
described below, and
2. all proprietary software necessary to use and understand the original,
proprietary format records.

# Rehab Act § 508 compliance

In accordance with 5 USC 552(a)(3)(B & C) (E-FOIA), Rehabilitation Act §
508, and FOIA IA, I demand that you respond using original, native format,
electronic, machine-processable, accessible, open, and well structured
records to the maximum extent possible — for both the content of your
response, and any communications about the request (such as response
letters).

This means, e.g.:
1. native, original format records rather than PDFs or other conversions (see
note above re providing both native electronic records and scans of paper
records, if both exist);
2. individual files per distinct source record (e.g. one .msg file per
email), named clearly using the record's identifier, title, and date, rather
than a single file containing multiple concatenated records;
3. records compliant with the Rehabilitation Act § 508, 36 CFR Part 1194,
and I​SO 14289­-1;
4. fully digital text records rather than scans, rasterizations, or OCR;
5. complete electronic records, as held on any computer (including phones,
servers, backup servers, mail servers, workstations, etc.), including all
headers and attachments, fully expanded e-mail addresses, full addresses for
address "aliases", full lists for "distribution list" aliases, all embedded
and external metadata, complete bitwise digital copies of the original file,
all file headers, and all other file content;
6. blackout rather than whiteout redactions, with every redaction marked with
all exemption(s) claimed for that redaction;
7. digital redactions rather than black marker or rasterization;
8. lists and structured data as machine-processable spreadsheets (e.g. CSV,
SQL, XSL) rather than word documents (e.g. DOC, PDF, TXT, RTF) or partial
printouts (e.g. PDF),
9. open format records (e.g. PDF, AVI, MPG) rather than proprietary format
records (e.g. WordPerfect, Microsoft Advanced Systems Format (ASF)) (note
above re providing both original, proprietary format records and open format
records);
10. scans rather than paper copies;
11. digital audio/video files rather than physical tapes;
12. upload to your Electronic Reading Room (or other publicly accessible
server) rather than personal transfer (for all items other than the item
requesting records related to me or my requests);
13. email or (S)FTP file transfer rather than CD;
14. email correspondence rather than physical mail; etc.

# Compression, passwords, and uploading large files

Multiple files may be sent in a combined, compressed form using standard ZIP,
TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, and/or RAR formats, or sent as separate files, at your
discretion.

Do not use any password on any files, including ZIP files etc., unless a
password was present in the original, native format (in which case, leave it
unaltered, and send me the password).

If there are any files you prefer not to transfer by email (e.g. if they are
>10MB), please upload them to me via the link listed below my signature.
Doing so is secure, completely free to you, and I will be notified of the
upload.

# No physical "duplication"; inspection & direct access

Please note that this request does not request that you physically
"duplicate" records, as I do not want you to create any paper or other
physical copy for me — I only want electronic versions (or scans, for
records that are not fully available in electronic form). As such, I expect
there to be no duplication related costs.

Furthermore, I specifically request access for inspection of the records,
including direct electronic access, in native format, to any electronic
records.

# Request tracking numbers and estimated completion date

Upon receipt, and in every followup response, please state your tracking
number(s) for this request, as well as your specific estimated completion
date. 5 USC 552(a)(7).

# Communication about this request and method for responding

If you have any questions or updates about this request, please contact me by
email, using only the MuckRock email address from which this request was
sent. Please do not send responses to my personal or organizational email
addresses unless I specifically request you to do so.

Please ensure that all of your responses comply with § 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act, 36 CFR Part 1194, and I​SO 14289­-1.

In particular, please make all correspondence pursuant to this request —
including notification and responsive records — by email, with native
electronic format records, as specified in the request. I do not authorize
you to send anything to me by physical mail unless I specifically state
otherwise.

Do not respond using ZixCorp "Secure Mail" or any other method that "expires"
records from being available. Use only actual email and direct attachments,
or upload using the link below, unless I explicitly request otherwise.

# "Reasonable description" and tailoring

Please note that a request need only be "reasonably described" in the sense
that you understand what is requested and where you can find it. A request is
not improper merely because of the amount of responsive records. I will not
agree to a limitation premised on this request asking for voluminous records.
However, I may agree to a limitation premised on the difficulty of finding
particular records or categories thereof, the quality of records available,
paper vs electronic format, or similar issues.

If you believe that any of the requested items are not reasonably described,
that they would be overly burdensome to fulfill, or that you need any further
information, please be specific about what you consider vague.

Please include in any response about "reasonably described", or any request
for narrowing, specific questions I can answer that would clarify matters for
you; specific descriptions of what parts of the request more or less
burdensome (and why) that could serve as the basis for negotiating a narrower
request; and any indexes, finding guides, record categories, record storage
practices, likely places that responsive records may be located, or similar
information that would allow me to understand your concerns and better tailor
the request.

# No fees agreed to; non-commercial status; journalistic & public interest
waiver

I am not currently willing to pay for servicing this request. I may be
willing to pay if it is necessary; please send a detailed explanation of the
costs and their statutory justification, and service the maximum extent of
the request that can be done for free in the meantime.

This request is a qualified request for journalistic, public interest
purposes. As such, I request fully waived fees, including both public
interest fee waiver and journalistic fee waiver.

1. Fiat Fiendum, Inc. (FF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, organized
for charitable, educational, scientific, and/or literary purposes.

This request is a part of FF's bona fide educational and scientific purpose
activities, which are public interest purposes as a matter of law.

2. FF's actions in matters such as this request are non-commercial. My
personal interest in the records is also non-commercial.

3. Both Fiat Fiendum as an organization, and I as an individual, are
representatives of the news media and entitled to waiver of all search fees.

4. I intend and am able to host and publish all received records online to
the general public at no charge, as well to publish highlights, analyses,
summaries, commentaries, and other creative, original journalistic and
scientific work about responsive records through multiple online
publications, as part of Fiat Fiendum's work.

5. The records requested are of significant public interest, entitled to
waiver of all duplication fees, since
a. they are requested for 501(c)(3) public interest purposes;
b. as above, I both am able and intend to disseminate the files widely;
c. they would contribute greatly to the public understanding of the
operations & activities of your agency, in that they are records that
directly describe agency operations & activities, as well as the issues and
matters described at the top of this letter;
d. they are not currently readily available; and
e. they are likely to be requested by others.

6. As mentioned above, I am explicitly not asking for any physical
duplication, but rather direct server-to-server file transfer or email (or
posting on your website). FOIA authorizes "duplication" fees strictly limited
to your agency's actual costs, and mandates that your agency use the cheapest
available requested methods. I consider the actual costs for server-to-server
file transfer to be reasonably estimated by, e.g., Amazon S3's pricing
(https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/).

7. I request that, pending fee waiver determination or appeal, you proceed
with this request as if it were in the "other non-commercial requester"
category.

# Requester

This request is made on behalf of both myself, Sai (in personal capacity) and
Fiat Fiendum, Inc. (in official capacity).

“Sai” is my full legal name.

Please note that I am partially blind. I use screen readers (such as
VoiceOver and TalkBack). I also need to process documents using computer code
(which requires machine-readable data, including metadata). These facts must
be considered as part of the basis for, and right to, the form and format
requests detailed above.

Sincerely,
Sai
President, Fiat Fiendum, Inc.
Fiat Fiendum is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation devoted to public interest
journalism, government transparency and accountability, individuals' civil
rights, and related issues.

Upload link and physical mail address are below. (Again, do not physically
mail responsive records without my explicit request; send all responses
electronically.)

Upload documents directly:
https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/
I am willing to pay fees for this request up to the amount of: $: 25
Select from the list below: An individual seeking information for personal
use and not for commercial use.
I request a waiver of all fees for this request.:
Please provide an explanation for your request for a fee waiver:
Please select and describe in detail if you believe your request warrants
expeditious handling:
Please provide information to support your selection:

September 03, 2019 Greetings, Attached is our acknowledgment to your TSA FOIA request. If you need to contact this office again concerning your 2019-TSFO-00633 request, please provide the TSA reference number. This will enable us to quickly retrieve the information you are seeking and reduce our response time. This office can be reached at 571-227-2300. Regards, TSA FOIA Branch