FBI file on Pete Seeger

Dear Mr. Craven,

The FBI has received your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy (FOIPA) request and it will be forwarded to Initial Processing for review. Your request will be processed under the provisions of FOIPA and a response will be mailed to you at a later date.

Requests for fee waivers and expedited processing will be addressed once your request has been assigned an FOIPA request number. You will receive written notification of the FBI’s decision.

Information regarding the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy is available at http://www.fbi.gov/ or http://www.fbi.gov/foia/. If you require additional assistance please contact the Public Information Officer.

Thank you,

David P. Sobonya
Public Information Officer/Legal Admin. Specialist
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4286
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997

A fix is required to perfect the request.

This is an automated reply to inform you that National Archives and Records
Administration received your e-mail.

If this is a reference request regarding records in the Kennedy
Assassination Records Collection, you will receive a reply within 10
working days.

If this is a FOIA request, we are currently assessing your FOIA to
determine which organization within NARA can best respond. Once your FOIA
is properly routed, our goal is to provide you with a reply within 20
working days* that will either resolve your request or inform you of your
FOIA case number and the current status. We will contact you at this
e-mail address if we require more information in order to proceed.

Thank You.

*According to the FOIA the 20 working days begins when the FOIA is received
by the appropriate component of the agency and is calculated excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays.

A letter stating the request for reduced or waived fees has been rejected.

A letter stating the requester must agree to or prepay assessed or estimated fees in order for the agency to continue processing the request.

This is an automated reply to inform you that National Archives and Records Administration received your e-mail.

If this is a reference request regarding records in the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection, you must contact our Textual Records Reference Division at archives2reference@nara.gov.

If this is a FOIA request, we are currently assessing your FOIA to determine which organization within NARA can best respond. Once your FOIA is properly routed, our goal is to provide you with a reply within 20 working days* that will either resolve your request or inform you of your FOIA case number and the current status. We will contact you at this e-mail address if we require more information in order to proceed.

Thank You.

*According to the FOIA the 20 working days begins when the FOIA is received by the appropriate component of the agency and is calculated excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays.

Dear Mr. Craven:

In our letter to you dated March 10, 2014, it was estimated that it would
take about two years before the file will be processed. I am reasonably
optimistic that the file will be released before then, but I cannot give
you an exact date or time period when you will hear from us.

Your request is one of several for this file, and due to the high interest,
we have started working on it instead of waiting for it to come up in the
queue. It is currently being processed in conjunction with other older FOIA
requests in our backlog so the review and the necessary redactions are
progressing along. As of today, I would say that we are over one third of
the way through and are closing in on the halfway point.

When the file is released, the current plan will be to post it online, so
that you will neither have to pay any reproduction charges nor have to
visit our facility to see it. You and everyone else who filed a FOIA
request for the file will be sent a link where you can view it for a
specific length of time before the public will be notified of its release.

I am sorry that a more specific date cannot be given to you. As the review
gets closer to the end, a reasonable determination might be made as to when
we might notify you, but not at this point.

Thank you for your patience, and we will notify you when we have finished
processing case file 100-HQ-200845.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven:

We have currently completed an initial review on about two-thirds of the
file. A conservative estimate is that you might receive a response
regarding your FOIA case sometime in the first few months of next year.

Sorry I cannot be more specific with the date. A reasonable determination
might be made at a later time as the review comes closer to the end, but
not at this point.

Thank you for your patience, and we will notify you when we have
finished processing case file 100-HQ-200845.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven:

We currently have one more section to review. We have also identified
sensitive documents that will require us to consult with outside agencies
regarding release decisions since the National Archives and Records
Administration does not have original declassification authority over these
records.

Our consultation process will take place after we finish reviewing the last
section which should be sometime in mid to late February. Once your request
falls into our consultation queue, we cannot offer you an estimate of when
the file will be released until we receive agency decisions on the
documents that were referred. This could take anywhere from six months to a
year or more based on outside agency backlogs.

The sanitized final version of the file will be made available online after
we receive release instructions on all the documents sent out for
consultation. If you wish, you can receive a version of the file with the
classified documents withdrawn, but you will be charged for reproductions
at $0.80 per page since we will not be posting this version online.

If you are interested in the unfinished version of the file, please let me
know, and I will send you a price quote once our review is finished.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

We finished our review of all nine sections, but we are currently preparing
to digitize three envelopes of enclosures that are located behind the file
sections. At the very least, one set of enclosures has been identified as
having information that should be withheld under the FOIA, but we will also
need to review the remaining two sets.

The next step will be to send copies of classified documents to other
government agencies for consultation on release decisions. This will take
place later than previously estimated, but it is best to completely finish
our review before sending out documents for consultation. Once the copies
are sent, we have to wait until we receive release decisions before we can
finish the case and post the file online. It can take anywhere from six
months to a few years before we receive all necessary agency responses.

Thanks for your patience, and you will hear from us again.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven:

There is not much of a change since my last response. A quick secondary
review of the file needs to be made to verify all classified equities have
been accounted for before we can consult with other government agencies on
release decisions. This process is currently pending.

You will hear from us again when there is a change in the status of your
request.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven:

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When there is,
we will notify you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

We are currently awaiting instructions from other government agencies
regarding their release determinations pertaining to classified documents
found in the file. We cannot proceed further with processing until we
receive these responses. Please contact me if you would like to order a
copy of the file with the classified documents withdrawn.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

I just wanted to give you an update on your FOIA request RD 42666 for FBI
Headquarters case file 100-HQ-200845 on Pete Seeger. We are currently
awaiting instructions from other government agencies regarding their
release determinations pertaining to classified documents found in the
file. We cannot proceed further with processing until we receive these
responses. Unfortunately, whenever we are in a "consultation" phase of our
FOIA processing, we are at the mercy of outside agency queues and
timetables. I would love to give you an estimate as to when we will hear
back from the agencies, but the truth is there is just no way to tell. As
soon as we receive all agency responses, we will release as much as we can
based on agency guidance and finish our processing of your FOIA request.

Until that time, we have a sanitized copy of file 100-HQ-200845 with all
classified documents withdrawn that is available for free if you or a
designated representative visit our facility at College Park, Maryland. If
you plan to visit, please notify me at either *mark.murphy@nara.gov
<mark.murphy@nara.gov>* or at (301) 837-1999 at least a week in advance of
your arrival. If I do not acknowledge your notification of arrival within
48 hours, then contact our office at either *specialaccess_foia@nara.gov
<specialaccess_foia@nara.gov>* or at (301) 837-3190. A digital copy of the
file will be loaned to you on DVD in our 4th floor research room (room
4000) where you will have the option to either burn a copy to your own DVD,
download a copy to a flash drive, upload a copy as an attachment to an
e-mail, or download a copy to your laptop if it has a CD/DVD-ROM drive.

There is also the option of having us mail you an electronic copy on CD or
DVD, but standard reproduction charges will apply and you will be charged
$0.80 per page. The 2,500 pages initially cited to you was a good faith
estimate based on the maximum number of pages designated to be in one of
our standard record center boxes. The actual page count is 1,761 pages. If
you would like to receive a copy of the file in the mail, just contact me,
and I will send you an official price quote for reproductions.

At some point in 2016, we plan to have a copy of the current version of
file 100-HQ-200845 made available to view for free on the internet. I do
not have an estimated time when it will be placed online as there is a
backlog of digital files waiting to be uploaded to our servers. In the
future after we receive all agency consultation responses, which will
presumably allow us to release more information, an updated final version
of 100-HQ-200845 will replace the obsolete one online.

A line-by-line review was completed of file 100-HQ-200845 and information
exempted from disclosure under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act
(5 USC 552) has been redacted. For your information, 321 pages have been
sanitized and 92 pages have been withdrawn in full. The redactions have
been applied under the following exemptions and reasons:

(b)(1)-To prevent the disclosure of classified information
(b)(3)-To prevent disclosure of information exempted by statute; the
specific statutes for this case are 50 USC 3024(i)(1)/50 USC 403-1(i)(1)
which protect intelligence sources and methods.
(b)(6) and (b)(7)(C)-To prevent an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
(b)(7)(D)-To prevent the disclosure of the identity of a confidential
source or informant
(b)(7)(E)-To protect techniques and procedures for law enforcement
investigations

You have the right to appeal our decision to restrict access, either in
whole or in part, to any document over which this agency has release
authority within 60 calendar days of receipt of this e-mail. Your appeal
can either be submitted in writing and addressed to the Deputy Archivist of
the United States, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601
Adelphi Road, Room 4200, College Park, MD 20740-6001, or sent by
e-mail to *foia@nara.gov
<foia@nara.gov>*. Depending on how your appeal is filed, please cite case
number RD 42666 and “Freedom of Information Act Appeal” on either the
envelope or in the subject line of the e-mail.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions pertaining to the
processing of your FOIA request. You will hear from us again once we
receive all agency returns and complete the processing of your case.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

A copy of documents responsive to the request.

Mr. Craven,

We have just recently established links for each section of the Seeger file
for you to view in PDF format. Please click on a link below to view the
corresponding section of the file. These links were created just this week
for researchers who requested the file under the Freedom of Information Act
but could not visit our facility to download a free electronic copy. Within
the next week or two, the file should be made readily available for public
viewing on the internet through the National Archives Catalog.

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-59169341-100-HQ-200845-Section-1.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-59170952-100-HQ-200845-Section-2.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-59170997-100-HQ-200845-Section-3.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-59171212-100-HQ-200845-Section-4.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-70000356-100-HQ-200845-Section-5.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-70000414-100-HQ-200845-Section-6.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-70000436-100-HQ-200845-Section-7.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-70000637-100-HQ-200845-Section-8.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-70000639-100-HQ-200845-Section-9.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-70000964-Enclosure-100-HQ-200845-121.PDF

http://nara-media.s3.amazonaws.com/foia/NW-42423/DOCID-70000966-Enclosure-100-HQ-200845-182.PDF

Many apologies for any confusion, but our initial response to you in March
2014 did not state the review of the file would be completed by February
28, 2016, but rather it was explained that *we expect to begin reviewing
these records approximately 24 months from the date of our initial response* to
you. This was a good faith estimate based on our backlog at the time. We
even expedited the review due to the large number of requests for the file,
and you as well as the other requesters were notified on December 10, 2015,
that processing of the *unclassified* portion of the file was finished.
Instructions for appealing any withheld information was provided to you at
the time.

My e-mail to you on December 10, 2015 stipulated that you had 60 days from
the date of that e-mail to file an appeal for further release of any
unclassified information withheld from the file. Even though the sections
listed above were posted to the internet by a researcher who visited our
facility and downloaded a version of the file, I am taking into account
that you may not have been aware of this, and that this may be the first
real opportunity for you to view it. Therefore, you will have 60 days from
the date of this e-mail to file your appeal. Your appeal can either be
submitted in writing and addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United
States, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road,
Room 4200, College Park, MD 20740-6001, or sent by e-mail to foia@nara.gov.
Depending on how your appeal is filed, please cite case number RD 42666 and
“Freedom of Information Act Appeal” on either the envelope or in the
subject line of the e-mail. If you already filed an appeal based on the
instructions from my last e-mail, then there is nothing more for you to do,
and please disregard this paragraph.

Please remember that there are a few documents withdrawn from the file that
are still considered classified, and we are currently consulting with
outside government agencies to obtain instructions on how to release this
information. The process is ongoing, and unfortunately, an estimate cannot
be given of its completion as we are at the mercy of backlogs faced by
these other agencies. When we have finally received all release
determinations on the classified documents, we will complete the processing
of your request, and notify you of our decisions.

As always, thanks for your patience, and feel free to contact me again if
you need further clarification on anything stated above.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When we
receive release decisions from agencies involved in declassification of the
remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When we
receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification of
the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify
you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When
we receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification
of the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and
notify you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When we
receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification of
the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

I am currently out of the office until October 12, 2016. I will respond to your inquiry after I return. If your matter is urgent and needs a more immediate response, please e-mail our office at specialaccess_foia@nara.gov or call our general number at (301) 837-3190. (mailto:specialaccess_foia@nara.gov) Thank you,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When
we receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification
of the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify
you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When we
receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification of
the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When we
receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification of
the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When we
receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification of
the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify
you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

I am currently out of the office until June 8, 2017. I will respond to your inquiry after I return. If your matter is urgent and needs a more immediate response, please e-mail our office at specialaccess_foia@nara.gov or call our general number at (301) 837-3190. (mailto:specialaccess_foia@nara.gov) Thank you,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

Currently, there is no change in the status of your request. When we
receive release decisions from all agencies involved in declassification of
the remaining documents, we will finish processing your case and notify you.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration

Dear Mr. Craven,

FOIA processing of FBI case file 100-HQ-200845 pertaining to Pete Seeger
(NARA case number #RD 42666) has concluded. Please read the attached
response letter for instructions on obtaining copies of the remaining
documents along with updated versions of Sections 6-9 from the FBI file.
The letter also offers guidance on submitting an appeal if you so choose.

Please contact me if you would rather receive a copy of the final response
letter in the mail or if you have any questions pertaining to the
processing of your case.

This concludes the processing of your request.

Sincerely,

Mark Murphy
Special Access/FOIA Staff
National Archives and Records Administration