Ethics Waivers at Education Department

To Whom It May Concern:

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

- Copies held by the Office of the Secretary of Education of any ethics waivers granted to political appointees by the White House between Jan. 20 and April 15.

President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 28, 2017 ordering all administration nominees to sign an ethics pledge: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/28/executive-order-ethics-commitments-executive-branch-appointees

According to section 3(C) of the executive order, "a copy of the waiver certification shall be furnished to the person covered by the waiver and provided to the head of the agency in which that person is or was appointed to serve." I therefore request copies of all such waivers received by the Secretary's office as of April 15.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. The requester is a full-time journalist at Reason Magazine.

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.

I request expedited processing, as I am a journalist involved in time-sensitive information gathering. The potential conflicts of interest among political appointees in the executive branch is a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence. I certify that my statements concerning the need for expedited processing are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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,

CJ Ciaramella