Communication with Brookings, CAP, the Third Way, CSIS and CFR (Federal Reserve Board of Governors)

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Any and all communication with any and all persons at the following organizations the Brookings Institution, the Center for American Progress, the Third Way, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations.

The time frame for this request is any and all communication from January 1, 2010 to the date this request is fulfilled. I ask that you please include but not limit your search to any and all emails to/from and/or copied with the following domains: brookings.org, cfr.org, americanprogress,org, thirdway.org and csis.org.

In this request, any and all communication includes but is not limited to emails; records documenting phone or in-person meetings, including but not limited to calendar items and meeting notes; faxes; letters; text messages; voicemails and electronic messages. Also in this request, I am seeking any and all communication from all types of accounts used by agency employees and officials for work, including but not limited to personal email account(s) and phone(s).

I ask that you please provide the records as they become available, and where applicable, in their original electronic format. Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions about the scope of this request or the format.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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,

Brooke Williams

Dear Ms. Shanks,

Thank you for your response. I would like to tailor my request so that it is narrow enough and efficient for everyone. I would be grateful for an opportunity to speak with you about how best to proceed, whether it is narrowing by persons communicating, method of communication and/or time frame.

I didn't anticipate you finding there to be a burdensome number of records of communication between the Federal Reserve Board and these five organizations. How many emails did you retrieve when you searched for emails with the specific domains I provided? Could you provide the number of emails per year? This will help to me best to tailor my request.

I'd also appreciate an opportunity to discuss. What is the best number to reach you? I'm at 202-615-3551.

Thank you,
Brooke Williams
Reporter
Lab@Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics