Emails Between CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney and Wells Fargo

Greetings,

The request is currently pending closure review and we expect to complete shortly.

Dear Mr. Gottinger:

This letter is to inform you that on January 7, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) received your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated January 7, 2019. Your request sought:

Any and all emails between CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney and any person employed by or associated with Wells Fargo.

After careful review of your FOIA request, we determined that it is too broad in scope or did not specifically identify the records in which you are seeking. Please consider providing a list of a few custodians and the domain for Wells Fargo. Also, you can always apply terms to a more broad set of custodians. We are available to talk if that would be easier.

Records must be described in reasonably sufficient detail to enable government employees who are familiar with the subject area to locate records without placing an unreasonable burden upon the agency. For this reason, §1070.14 of the CFPB regulations (12 C.F.R. Part 1070) require that you describe the records you are seeking with as much information as possible to ensure that our search can locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, a request should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipients, and subject matter of the records, if known, or the CFPB office you believe created and/or controls the record. The FOIA does not require an agency to create new records, answer questions posed by requesters, or attempt to interpret a request that does not identify specific records.

This is not a denial of your request. If further clarification is not provided within 30 days from the date of this letter, your FOIA request will be administratively closed.

Thank you,
FOIA Public Liaison | FOIA Office
Office: (202) 435-9499 | Toll Free: (855) 444-3642

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
consumerfinance.gov/foia

Confidentiality Notice: If you received this email by mistake, you should notify the sender of the mistake and delete the e-mail and any attachments. An inadvertent disclosure is not intended to waive any privileges.

Dear Mr.  Gottinger,
Attached to this email is our final response to your FOIA request dated December 17, 2018 to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the CFPB FOIA Team at 1-855-444-FOIA (3642) or FOIA@consumerfinance.gov. Thank you.
FOIA Public Liaison | FOIA Office Office: (202) 435-9499 | Toll Free: (855)444-3642 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consumerfinance.gov/foia Confidentiality Notice: If you received this email by mistake, youshould notify the sender of the mistake and delete the e-mail and anyattachments.  An inadvertent disclosure is not intended to waive anyprivileges.

Dear Mr.  Gottinger,
Attached to this email is our final response to your FOIA request dated December 17, 2018 to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the CFPB FOIA Team at 1-855-444-FOIA (3642) or FOIA@consumerfinance.gov. Thank you.
FOIA Public Liaison | FOIA Office Office: (202) 435-9499 | Toll Free: (855)444-3642 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consumerfinance.gov/foia Confidentiality Notice: If you received this email by mistake, youshould notify the sender of the mistake and delete the e-mail and anyattachments.  An inadvertent disclosure is not intended to waive anyprivileges.

Attached to this email is our final response to your FOIA request dated January 7, 2019 to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the CFPB FOIA Team at 1-855-444-FOIA (3642) or FOIA@consumerfinance.gov. Thank you.
FOIA Public Liaison | FOIA Office Office: (202) 435-9499 | Toll Free: (855)444-3642 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consumerfinance.gov/foia Confidentiality Notice: If you received this email by mistake, youshould notify the sender of the mistake and delete the e-mail and anyattachments.  An inadvertent disclosure is not intended to waive anyprivileges.

Dear Mr. Gottinger: As an update to your request, FOIA Request BCFP-2019-0173-F, we haveinitiated a search for “all e-mails sent from or received by any government orpersonal e-mail accounts used by the Office of Management and Budget’s DirectorJohn M. Mulvaney that contain the keywords "Allied Progress". The search conducted came back withinitial results of approximately 1.5 GB of data. Your request was recentlyreassigned to me for processing. Please be advised that the CFPBFOIA Office has a backlog of pending FOIA requests.  We are diligentlyworking to process each request in the order in which it was received. Your patience is greatly appreciated. With this given request, our office will have to correspondwith other CFPB offices to ensure that the information we provide to you is asaccurate and complete as possible. Due to the nature, type of records yourequested, and the voluminous amount of records received from the search, the estimated date that your request willbe completed is by . If you would like to discussthis timeframe further or reformulate your request, please do not hesitate togive me a call or send me an e-mail directly to discuss your request. July 19, 2019

Paul Gottinger
MuckRock News
411A Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
Via email: requests@muckrock.com
Dear Mr. Gottinger:
Please be advised that the CFPBFOIA Office has a backlog of pending FOIA requests.  We are diligentlyworking to process each request in the order in which it was received. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
As an update to your request, we have initiated a searchfor: A.) “any and all records created or transmitted by or between White Housestaff, including but not limited to their email addresses ending in“who.eop.gov,” including but not limited to Jared Kushner, John F. Kelly,Justin Clark, George Sifakis, Andrew Giuliani, Bill Stepien, Stephen Munisteri,Jennifer Korn, Sarah Makin, Ivanka Trump, Gary Cohn, Jeremy Katz, Ashley HickeyMarquis, and Dina Powell, Kenneth I. Juster, Jeremy Katz, George David Banks ,Mathew Haarsager, Shahira Knight, Ashley Hickey Marquis, Andrew Olmem, AndrewQuinn, and CFPB employees between January 1, 2018 and December 15, 2018; B.)“in addition to records requested above, we also request records describing theprocessing of this request, including records sufficient to identify searchterms used and locations and custodians searched, and any tracking sheets usedto track the processing of this request. If your agency uses FOIAquestionnaires or certifications completed by individual custodians or componentsto determine whether they possess responsive materials or to describe how theyconducted searches, we also request any such records prepared in connectionwith the processing of this request.”
Your request was recently assigned to me for processing. In the process of conducting this search andupon further review, we have classified your request as complex. Complexrequests are those which involve voluminous records and for which lengthy ornumerous consultations are requested, or those which may involve sensitiverecords.
In accordance with Section 1070.17of the CFPB FOIA regulations, 12 C.F.R. Part 1070, the Bureau generallyprocesses FOIA requests according to their order of receipt. Although the CFPB’s goal is to respond within20 business days of receipt of your request, the FOIA does permit a 10-dayextension of this time period for unusual circumstances. Unusual circumstances include the need tosearch for and collect records from separate CFPB officers; the need to searchfor, collect, and examine a voluminous amount of records “demanded in a singlerequest”; and the need to consult with another agency or two or more agencycomponents.
Due to the complexity of yourrequest, the CFPB will invoke a 10-day extension for your request, as allowedby 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B). If you haveany questions or if you wish to discuss the reformulation of your request or analternative time frame for processing your request, you may contact our FOIAPublic Liaison at FOIA@consumerfinance.gov or by phone at 1-855-444-FOIA(3642).
With this given request, our office will have to correspondwith other CFPB offices to ensure that the information we provide to you is asaccurate and complete as possible. Due to the nature, type of records yourequested, and the voluminous amount of records received from the search, the estimated date that your request willbe completed is by August 24 . If you would like to discussthis timeframe further or reformulate your request, please reference your FOIArequest number above and contact our FOIA Public Liaison via email atFOIA@consumerfinance.gov or by phone at 1-855-444-FOIA (3642). , 2019
Additionally, you may contact theOffice of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives andRecords Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services theyoffer. The contact information for OGISis as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives andRecords Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, MD 20740; e-mailat ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at
1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at202-741-5769.

Dear Mr.  Gottinger,
Attached to this email is our final response to your FOIA request dated January 7, 2019 to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the CFPB FOIA Team at 1-855-444-FOIA (3642) or FOIA@consumerfinance.gov. Thank you.
FOIA Public Liaison | FOIA Office Office: (202) 435-9499 | Toll Free: (855)444-3642 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consumerfinance.gov/foia Confidentiality Notice: If you received this email by mistake, youshould notify the sender of the mistake and delete the e-mail and anyattachments.  An inadvertent disclosure is not intended to waive anyprivileges.

Dear Mr. Gottinger,
I was recently assigned to your request.  First, I apologize that you have waited so long for a response.  The CFPB is working to reduce our backlog and respond to requesters in a timely manner. Upon review of your request, I determined that an accurate search could not be performed.  Your request is too broad in scope or did not specificallyidentify the records in which you are seeking. Records must be described in reasonably sufficient detail to enablegovernment employees who are familiar with the subject area to locate recordswithout placing an unreasonable burden upon the agency. For this reason, §1070.14 of the CFPBregulations (12 C.F.R. Part 1070) require that you describe the records you areseeking with as much information as possible to ensure that our search can locatethem with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, a request should includespecific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name,author, recipients, and subject matter of the records, if known, or the CFPBoffice you believe created and/or controls the record. The FOIAdoes not require an agency to create new records, answer questions posed byrequesters, or attempt to interpret a request that does not identify specificrecords. Your request sought, "All e-mails exchanged between any government or personal e-mail accounts used by the Office of Management and Budget’s Director John M. Mulvaney and any government or personal e-mail accounts used by Brian Johnson."  Please provide the personal email addresses for Mr. Mulvaney and Mr. Johnson for which you would like the CFPB to search. If further clarification is notprovided within 30 days from the date of this letter, your FOIA request will beadministratively closed. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Bureau's FOIA Service Center at 1-855-444-FOIA (3642) or FOIA@consumerfinance.gov . (mailto:FOIA@consumerfinance.gov)

Thank you.

Holly Walter

Good Afternoon, Mr. Gottinger.

I have made several attempts to reach you by telephone on August 21, 2019, an email on August 28, 2019 and left you a voice message today regarding clarification on FOIA request CFPB-2019-151-F. As a result of the multiple attempts, we will be placing your request on hold pending clarification from you. Please contact me as soon as possible regarding narrowing the scope of your request so that we may proceed with processing. Also, be advised that your request is not considered perfected until such time as the clarification outlined in the previous email is received. Please provide the requested clarification within 30 days from the date of this email or we will assume you are no longer interested in this FOIA request and your request will be administratively closed.

Sincerely,

Quentin D. Bullock

Paralegal Specialist (Contractor)| Operations
Office: (202) 435-7250 | Mobile: (202) 286-0334

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
consumerfinance.gov<http://www.consumerfinance.gov/>