Contracts With Delta Crescent LLC

To Whom It May Concern:

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

All contracts (and their amendments), memorandums of understanding, intergovernmental service agreements, and any agreements of any sort entered into by the Defense Logistics Agency for all services, equipment, and activities involving/provided by/contracted for regarding TigerSwan, LLC through any of the aforementioned agreements.

Responsive materials should include but not be limited to:

• the initial Invitation to Bid, Request for Proposal, or equivalent call for contractors
• the responsive materials provided by the winning bidder
• all other vendor responses
• all evaluation material, scorecards, reports, and notes generated in the selection process
• the current contract
• all exhibits
• all amendments
• all invoices/receipts detailing compensation received as a result of any agreements
• all agreements related to the provision of services, such as water and sewage
• all financial agreements (such as loans or bonds) entered into as a result or in association with any of the aforementioned agreements

TigerSwan is a limited liability corporation registered in North Carolina and located at 3467 Apex Peakway, Apex, NC 27502-5757.

I am seeking expedited processing of my request pursuant to 5 U.S.C.§ 552(a)(6)(E) because there is an urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity.

On July 30, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that an unnamed American company was "in implementation" of a deal to work on northeastern Syria's oil industry. (https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/take-oil-american-oil-company-finally-gets-syrian-oil-deal-165902) Soon after, it was reported that Delta Crescent Energy, LLC was the company in question and TigerSwan founder James Reese was a partner in the company. (https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/07/us-oil-company-deal-syria-kurds-kobani-turkey-russia-sdc-sdf.html and https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/delta-crescent-energy-syrian-oil-391033)

President Donald Trump had stated in October and November 2019 that U.S. military forces are remain in Syria "only for the oil" and that they "may have to fight for the oil." At least two U.S. service members have died in Syria since he made these statements.

Foreign countries have condemned the U.S. presence since Secretary Pompeo's July 30 statement. The Turkish foreign ministry called any U.S. move to extract Syrian oil "utterly unacceptable" (https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-slams-us-over-oil-deal-with-ypg-in-syria-157090), while the Syrian government denounced the rumored deal as "an assault against Syria’s sovereignty" and "a continuation of the U.S. hostile approach towards Syria" (http://www.sana.sy/en/?p=198923).

Furthermore, it was reported on August 3, 2020 that the Syrian Kurdish administration were claiming not to have signed any contracts with an American company, calling into question the accuracy of Secretary Pompeo's claims. (https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/did-mike-pompeo-mislead-congress-about-syrias-oil-166158)

Therefore, this request concerns a Federal government activity in a matter of current exigency to the American public because U.S. troops are risking life and limb to protect Syrian oil and because U.S. Government officials may have misled Congress about the situation of said oil. The public has an urgent need to know as much as possible about relationship between the U.S. Government and U.S. Government activities in Syria on one hand, and James Reese, TigerSwan and Delta Crescent Energy on the other.

Federal courts have recognized the public's interest in breaking news, which "conveys information the public wants quickly,” “would lose value if it were delayed" (Am. Civil Liberties Union of N. Cal., 2006 WL 1469418 at *6.), and may have an "impact" on the public's political decision-making (Id. at *7).

Syria policy certainly could impact the public's political decision-making process. The Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria in October 2019 caused several congressional hearings and an high volume of news coverage. The public would undoubtedly have an interest in understanding further developments in U.S. policy in the same region of Syria, especially before the November 2020 elections.

I am a reporter for the National Interest, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity. In addition to expedited processing, I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester.

The National Interest is widely recognized for its reporting, publishing regular features on issues of public interest and importance. In addition, I have covered areas related to this request, and plan to use my editorial skills to analyze and produce original reporting work for millions of monthly readers at NationalInterest.org.

If you have any questions about my media status, please contact me.

I am willing to pay up to $100 in fees, but I also believe that I qualify for a fee waiver.

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,

Matthew Petti