EOPmails (Transportation Security Administration)
| Tracking # |
2017-TSFO-00142 |
| Submitted | Feb. 6, 2017 |
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Communications
From: Michael Best
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
a copy of all emails from the domain EOP.gov to senior managers encompassed within the required agency system for retaining emails of senior officials. Frequently this records management policy/system is described by the name Capstone.
https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/grs/grs06-1-faqs.html
If the agency has not yet established NARA-compliant email retention procedures, then I instead request an electronic search of the mailboxes of agency senior managers for all emails that include the EOP.gov phrase in the FROM address.
I limit this request to the time period January 20, 2017 to the present.
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities for AND Magazine, MuckRock and Glomar Disclosure and have an open arrangement with each. My articles have been widely read, with some reaching over 100,000 readers. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through the non-profit Internet Archive, 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 such, my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available and I therefore 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,
Michael Best
From: Green, Herman (CTR)
Hello,
I am Herman Green from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Freedom of Information Act Branch (FOIA). Your FOIA request has been assigned to me for processing. First let me provide you with your tracking number: TSA FOIA Case 2017-TSFO-00142. As we process your case, you can track the progress by logging on the DHS FOIA tracking database at https://www.dhs.gov/foia-status
How the TSA process its cases is as follows. We will request the documents from program offices, review them, and if required, request that a Sensitive Security Information (SSI) review take place. Sensitive Security Information is information that could compromise the security of transportation systems if released to the public. The TSA process cases on a first-in, first-out basis. If you have any questions please contact the TSA FOIA Office: phone number 571-227-2300 or 1-866-364-2872 or by email FOIA@tsa.dhs.gov<mailto:FOIA@tsa.dhs.gov>
Thank you and have a great day.
Herman Green FOIA Analyst,
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
From: Michael Best
Thanks for the update. Could you give an idea of what the queue/backlog is at the moment, or how long it's expected until my case will come to the top of the pile?
From: Green, Herman (CTR)
Good morning,
All status inquires may be answered by visiting the following website (http://www.dhs.gov/foia-status) and entering your case number. That is all the information we can provide to you at this time.
Thank you and have a great day.
FOIA Analyst,
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
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~WRD000
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 Feb. 6, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Green, Herman (CTR)
Good afternoon,
Currently, your request is in review with a FOIA analyst. For status inquiries please visit, http://www.dhs.gov/foia-status and use your request number to check your status. The website might state the request status as ‘Request for Docs sent’ however, that is just a webpage oversight and I can assure you that any responsive documents are being reviewed by an analyst. That is all the information I can give you at this time.
Have a great day!
Herman Green FOIA Analyst,
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
From: Harrid, April
Greetings,
My name is April Harrid and I will be the TSA FOIA Analyst responsible for processing your request. The previous analyst assigned to this request is no longer with TSA. Please be advised, the TSA processes requests on a first-in, first-out basis. I currently have 29 requests in my queue ahead of yours and am working to process them as well as yours.
Please don't hesitate to contact me at april.harrid@tsa.dhs.gov should you have any questions regarding the processing of your request.
Respectfully,
April Harrid
TSA FOIA Branch
601 South 12th Street
Arlington, VA 20598-6020
FOIA Main Line: (571) 227-2300
Fax: (571) 227-1406
[TSA_DHS_Sig_SM]
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image001
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 6, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Transportation Security Administration
Good day,
Your request is still in the queue to be processed as no records have been received at the FOIA office. Without any records, it is difficult to provide a date of when your request will be completed. So at this time we can only provide an estimate of another 30 to 60 days. This is just an estimate as the timeframe may be longer, but hopefully much sooner.
Respectfully,
April Harrid
TSA FOIA Branch
601 South 12th Street
Arlington, VA 20598-6020
FOIA Main Line: (571) 227-2300
Fax: (571) 227-1406
[TSA_DHS_Sig_SM]
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image001
From: Emma North-Best
Eight months ago you estimated the request might take up to another two months. Could I have an update on its status? Thanks so much!
From: Transportation Security Administration
Good day,
Please provide the FOIA reference number when requesting information regarding your FOIA request.
--
Respectfully,
April Harrid
From: Transportation Security Administration
Good day Mr. Best,
My names is Michael Tobias and I am the analyst assigned to process your request, 2017-TSFO-00142, for "all emails from domain EOP.gov to senior managers...".
I am currently working on your request, but need clarification regarding the following issues to ensure that we are conducting a thorough and complete search:
Are you able to provide us with the individuals you are seeking emails from and to? Also, is there a specific subject matter for the emails you are seeking?
Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to your reply.
Regards,
Michael Tobias,
TSA FOIA Office
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Freedom of Information Request EOPmails (Transportation Security Administration)1
From: Emma North-Best
No specific individuals, and the subject of concern is the communications from the specified domain in the date range provided.
I'm afraid I can't narrow down the subject matter more, though I would like to remind you of Shapiro v. CIA, No. 14-00019, 2016 WL 1069646 (D.D.C. Mar. 17, 2016) (Cooper, J.) which found that when it comes to determining whether a request is unduly burdensome or overly broad, when "[r]egardless of how onerous it might be to locate them, there can be no dispute about which items are being requested" then "FOIA's reasonable-description requirement does not doom requests that precisely describe the records sought, even if compliance might overwhelm an agency’s response team." I am sure your office is aware of this, but thought it better to be safe and avoid an unnecessary delay in processing, or even an appeal or lawsuit.
P.S.
It's Ms. (or Mx.) Emma Best. I would appreciate you updating your records. Thank you!
From: Transportation Security Administration
Good Day,
After careful review, we determined that your FOIA request did not specifically identify the records which you are seeking. 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, §5.3(b) of the DHS regulations, 6 C.F.R. Part 5, 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 DHS component or 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.
Specifically, we need you to define "Senior management" in order for us to do a search.
If we do not receive a response within from the date of this notice, we will assume you are no longer interested in this FOIA request, and the case will be administratively closed. Please be advised that this action is not a denial of your request and will not preclude you from filing other requests in the future. 30 days
Your request has been assigned 2017-TSFO-00142. Please reference this number in any future communications with this office.
Sincerely,
TSA FOIA Branch
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Freedom of Information Request EOPmails (Transportation Security Administration)1
From: Transportation Security Administration
Good day, We have not received clarification regarding your requestwithin the given timeframe. We are therefore administratively closing your request.Please be advised that this action is not a denial of your request and will notpreclude you from filing other requests in the future. Thank you and have a great day! TSA FOIA Branch