DHS OIA Significant FOIA activity 4/14/2011 - Present
| Tracking # |
13-OIA-115 |
| Submitted | Sept. 16, 2013 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Jason Smathers
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
A copy of each weekly submission of significant FOIA activity sent from OIA to the DHS Privacy Office as required by The Chief Privacy Officer memo, February 9, 2005. Limit responsive records to those created on or after 4/14/2011.
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,
Jason Smathers
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 16, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thank you for your help.
From: I&AFOIA
I am writing on behalf of the Freedom of Information Act Officer for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis in the Department of Homeland Security. This is a response to your request, detailed below.
The report concerning significant FOIA activity that I&A sends to the DHS Privacy Office is a draft. The information proposed to be included in the report is selected by the I&A FOIA Officer based on her assessment of compliance with the reporting requirements and her judgment regarding reportable requests. The final decision on what items from I&A are to be included in the weekly report is made by the DHS Privacy Office, and the final reports are posted on the DHS.gov website. See ,e.g., http://www.dhs.gov/publication/chief-foia-officer-weekly-report-january-2013-july-2013. We are therefore withholding the I&A draft reports on the basis of Exemption 5 of the FOIA (deliberative process privilege), which protects intra-agency memoranda that are privileged.
If you construe this decision to be a denial of access, you may appeal it pursuant to the guidance provided in 6 C.F.R. 5.9, which is available online.
Elizabeth Withnell
Associate Privacy Officer
Advanced Government Solutions (AGS), Inc.
in support of the Information Compliance Division
Office of Intelligence and Analysis
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
202-447-3328
From: Jason Smathers
I appeal. (b)(5) does not apply here. I requested a record of FOIA requests in which the DHS OIA deemed to be significant. This record exists and is not deliberative. Your rejection clearly flys in the face of the president's request that you operate with a presumption of openness. For this reason and any other deemed appropriate by the appeals authority, I appeal.
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