CIA ad hoc Review Staff

Emma North-Best filed this request with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America.
Tracking #

F-2018-01993

Due July 23, 2018
Est. Completion None
Status
Awaiting Response

Communications

From: Emma North-Best

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Materials relating to the creation, performance, and dissolution of the ad hoc "review staff" headed by an assistant to the DCI to respond to requests from the Rockefeller Commission and the Church and Pike Committee's. The review staff is briefly described on page 126 of The Agency and the Hill: CIA's Relationship with Congress, 1946-2004, published by the Agency's Center for the Study of Intelligence:

"Although the OLC continued to handle the regular business of the Agency on the Hill, it was too small to deal with the volume of congressional requests that deluged the Agency once the Church and Pike Committees began their inquiries. Special arrangements had to be instituted. The agency assembled an ad hoc “review staff” headed by an “assistant to the DCI” to respond to the requests of the Rockefeller Commission. Thus, DCI Colby attempted to establish a process that would satisfy the new investigating committees while at the same time protect the Agency’s legitimate security interests."

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities. I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the Internet Archive and 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: Central Intelligence Agency

An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.

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