FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force MOU (FBI)
| Tracking # |
1246673-000 ; AP-2015-01564 |
| Submitted | Dec. 24, 2013 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) or memorandum of agreement (MOA) between NYPD and the FBI for the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Please note, this is not a request for investigative files.
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,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Sobonya, David P.
Dear Mr. Musgrave,
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
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.
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 Dec. 24, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1246673-0.
Thank you for your help.
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 Dec. 24, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1246673-0.
Thank you for your help.
From: Sobonya, David P.
Dear Mr. Musgrave,
Please check the Status of Your FOIPA Request at: http://www.fbi.gov and access the (Freedom of Information Act) link at the bottom of the page, or http://www.fbi.gov/foia, or http://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps, and follow the instructions below.
Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is 11195846-0 please enter 11195846-000 into the system. If your FOIPA number is 11195846-1 please enter 11195846-001 into the system.
Find status of FOIPA−Last updated on March 5, 2014
Please enter the whole FOIPA number- Example: 1234567-000
FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA
1234567-000
Case Type
FOIPA
Process Description (will display the current progress of request)
The FBI's FOIPA Program is searching the FBI's indices for potentially responsive documents. You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.
NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status online, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online status database. Status information is updated weekly. Closed requests will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.
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
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 Dec. 24, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1246673-0.
Thank you for your help.
From: Sobonya, David P.
Dear Mr. Musgrave,
Please view the attachment regarding Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request, which was last updated on April 8, 2014.
Please contact me if you require further assistance.
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
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation - FBI
The request has been rejected, with the agency stating that the information or document(s) requested are exempt from disclosure.
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 Dec. 24, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1246673-0.
Thank you for your help.
From: Sobonya, David P.
Dear Mr. Musgrave,
The above FOIPA request was closed and correspondence was mailed to you on 5-8-14.
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
From: Shawn Musgrave
Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP)
U.S. Department of Justice
1425 New York Avenue, Suite 11050
Washington, D.C. 20530
May 28, 2014
To Whom It May Concern:
This is an appeal of rejection for 1246673-0, in which I requested a copy of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) or memorandum of agreement (MOA) between NYPD and the FBI for the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The FBI FOIA office contends that releasing the requested MOU would jeopardize the deliberative process within the FBI, but fails to substantiate this claim. Furthermore, it is soundly unclear how an MOU currently in place (and likely in place for decades in one iteration or another, as the NYPD was the first police department known to have entered into a JTTF arrangement with the FBI) could qualify as exempt under the deliberative process privilege. I have requested here a document that represents a solid decision made, for which the deliberative process privilege clearly does not apply.
For this and any other reasons deemed applicable by the appeals authority, I request that this request be remanded back to the FBI for further processing and full release of the requested documents.
Thank you,
Shawn Musgrave
From: OIP-NoReply
THIS MESSAGE IS SENT FROM AN UNATTENDED ID. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE
From: OIP-NoReply
THIS MESSAGE IS SENT FROM AN UNATTENDED ID. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE
From: Shawn Musgrave
Hello,
Per the attached, this request was remanded to the FBI on September 24. I have yet to receive any update.
Please advise.
Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock
From: McGuinn, Lauren S.
Dear Mr. Musgrave,
Unfortunately we have no updates at this time.
Thank you,
Lauren McGuinn
Public Information Officer/GIS
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
-
~WRD000
From: Sobonya, David P.
Dear Mr. Musgrave,
FOIPA #1246673-000 has not been reopened as of this date.
Thank you,
David P. Sobonya
Public Information Officer/GIS
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
-
~WRD155
From: Shawn Musgrave
Hello,
Per the FBI's obligations under FOIA, I respectfully request an estimated date of completion for this request. I have attached the September 24, 2014 appeal determination letter once again for your reference.
Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock
From: Sobonya, David P.
Dear Mr. Musgrave,
The search for records responsive to your request is ongoing. When a request for an estimated date of completion is received while the search for records is not yet complete, estimated dates of completion are based on the median processing time of large queue requests. Accordingly, the estimated date on which the FBI will complete action on your request is 515 days from the date of your request (Reopened 10-27-14).
Please contact me if you require further assistance.
Thank you,
Note: Once the search has been completed and if responsive records exist the request is forwarded to the acklog where it awaits assignment to Government Information Specialist (GIS). The GIS reviews the records to determine if any redactions are required pursuant to subsections of Title 5, U. S. Code, Section § 552 and 552a. If no records are located, the requester is also notified.
David P. Sobonya
Public Information Officer/GIS
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
-
~WRD000
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation - FBI
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation - FBI
The request has been rejected, with the agency stating that the information or document(s) requested are exempt from disclosure.
From: Shawn Musgrave
Hello,
Given that the two rejection letters (dated May 8, 2014 and November 14, 2014, respectively) are identical, it is unclear to me whether the FBI has actually conducted additional processing per the Office of Information Policy remand of September 24, 2014.
The May 8, 2014 FBI rejection letter can be viewed online here:
https://muckrock.s3.amazonaws.com/foia_files/5-9-14_MR9723_REJ-E_.pdf
The November 14, 2014 FBI rejection letter can be viewed online here:
https://muckrock.s3.amazonaws.com/foia_files/11-19-14_MR9723_REJ-E_ID1246673-000.pdf
The September 24, 2014 DOJ OIP remand letter can be viewed online here: https://muckrock.s3.amazonaws.com/foia_files/Musgrave_Shawn_FBI_AP-2014-03241_1.pdf
Please confirm whether any additional processing was conducted on this request. If not, please refer to the DOJ OIP remand letter and comply with its determination that the FBI is to conduct further processing.
If such processing has been completed and the November 14 letter is the result, I would note that no further detail has been provided whatsoever to justify the FBI's invocation of exemption 5.
I look forward to your prompt reply so that I may submit an additional appeal to OIP, if necessary.
Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock
From: Shawn Musgrave
Director, Office of Information Police (OIP)
US Department of Justice
1425 New York Ave, NW, Suite 11050
Washington, DC 20530-0001
December 31, 2014
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby appeal the further rejection of FOIA 1246673 by the FBI, in which I requested a copy of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) or memorandum of agreement (MOA) between NYPD and the FBI for the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
While in response to my earlier appeal (AP-2014-03241), the Office of Information Policy remanded my FOIA back to the FBI for further processing, the FBI contends in a virtually identical rejection letter dated November 14, 2014 (attached) that releasing the requested MOU would jeopardize the deliberative process within the FBI.
Just as with the determination which I appealed in May, the FBI here fails to substantiate its invocation of the deliberative process privilege whatsoever.
Furthermore, it is soundly unclear how an MOU currently in place (and likely in place for decades in one iteration or another, as the NYPD was the first police department known to have entered into a JTTF arrangement with the FBI) could qualify as exempt under the deliberative process privilege. I have requested here a document that represents a solid decision made, for which the deliberative process privilege clearly does not apply.
I have attempted to determine whether the FBI conducted any additional processing per the Office of Information Policy remand of September 24, 2014, but have received no reply.
As such, I once again appeal the adequacy of the search by the FBI for this FOIA request, and request that the agency be directed to conduct a good faith search and release responsive documents.
Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock
From: OIP-NoReply
Please do not reply to this e-mail, as this account is not monitored. To ensure a prompt reply, please direct any inquiries to the contact information listed in the correspondence provided to you. Thank you.
From: OIP-NoReply
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