FEC Enforcement Priority System
| Submitted | March 31, 2015 |
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Communications
From: Alex Richardson
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
A copy of the criteria approved by the Commission under its Enforcement Priority System for use by the OGC in evaluating complaints and responses. These criteria are referenced on the bottom of page 11 in the linked document, quoted below: http://www.fec.gov/em/respondent_guide.pdf
"After the 15-day response period (and any extension of time, if granted) has elapsed, OGC evaluates the complaint and response, if any, using objective criteria approved by the Commission under its Enforcement Priority System."
I am also requesting a copy of the minutes for the meeting(s) in which the Enforcement Priority System criteria were discussed.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not being made 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,
Alex Richardson
From:
March 16, 2015
Dear Mr. Richardson:
This email acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request dated March 31, 2015.
Please note that, depending upon the nature of your request, we may be
able to respond to you more quickly if you are able to state your request
more specifically or narrowly, either in terms of the scope of documents
you have requested or by refining the time frame of your request. If you
would like to discuss this option or if you have any questions, please
contact the FOIA Requester Service Center at (202) 694-1650. Please
include the following tracking number in all future correspondence
regarding this matter ? FOIA Request 2015-34
Thank you for contacting the Federal Election Commission.
Sincerely,
Christopher Mealy
FOIA Requester
Service Center
From:
2
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Alex Richardson
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 16992
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
E-mail: requests@muckrock.com
Re: FOIA Request 2015-34
Dear Mr. Richardson:
This email is in response to your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) dated March 31, 2015 and received by the
Federal Election Commission?s (FEC) FOIA Requester Service Center on April
1, 2015. You requested:
· A copy of the criteria approved by the Commission under its
Enforcement Priority System for use by the OGC in evaluating complaints
and responses.
· A copy of the minutes for the meeting(s) in which the Enforcement
Priority System criteria were discussed.
Your request for these documents has been denied subject to FOIA
Exemptions 5 and 7(E). Specifically, the Enforcement Priority System
(EPS) criteria has been withheld pursuant to Exemption 7(E), and the
Commission meeting minutes in which the EPS criteria were discussed have
been withheld pursuant to Exemptions 5 and 7(E). FOIA Exemption 5
prevents disclosure of ?inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or
letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an
agency in litigation with the agency.? 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). The meeting
minutes you requested are subject to the deliberative process privilege
protected by Exemption 5. Exemption 7(E) prevents disclosure of
information in law enforcement records that ?would disclose techniques and
procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would
disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if
such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the
law.? 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E). The EPS criteria and meeting minutes you
requested include information concerning guidelines for law enforcement
investigations or prosecutions that if disclosed could reasonably be
expected to risk circumvention of the law, and thus the information is
covered by Exemption 7(E). We have withheld approximately 8 pages of
responsive materials based on Exemption 7(E), and 4 pages of materials
based on Exemptions 5 and 7(E). See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(F).
You may appeal any adverse FOIA determination. Any such appeal must be
filed in writing and should follow the guidelines set forth in 11 C.F.R. §
4.8. If you have any questions, please contact the FOIA Requester Service
Center at FOIA@fec.gov, or (202) 694-1650. Thank you for contacting the
FEC.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Kahn
FOIA Requester Service
Center
From: Alex Richardson
April 21, 2015
To Whom It May Concern,
I am appealing a denial of access to public records. The Federal Election Commission has rejected my request for records in its entirety, citing exemptions that I believe do not apply to the requested documents. Further, should the exemptions legitimately apply to the requested documents, I believe that documents could still be released with limited redactions.
On March 31, 2015, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FEC for:
A copy of the criteria approved by the Commission under its Enforcement Priority System for use by the OGC in evaluating complaints and responses.
A copy of the minutes for the meeting(s) in which the Enforcement Priority System criteria were discussed.
In the agency’s rejection letter dated April 9, 2015, the FEC acknowledged the existence of 12 pages of documents relevant to my request but claimed that all of these documents were exempted. The agency claimed that the Enforcement Priority System (EPS) criteria were exempted under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E) and that the minutes in which they were discussed were exempted under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) and 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E). I will address each claim individually.
The FEC’s position that both the criteria considered under its Enforcement Priority System and the minutes for meetings in which those criteria were discussed are exempted under 552(b)(7)(E) is incorrect. Exemption 7(E) applies to documents that would disclose law enforcement techniques, procedures or guidelines for investigations or prosecutions, but only insofar as their disclosure would risk the circumvention of the law.
The requested document does not describe techniques or procedures by which crimes are investigated. Further, the disclosure of the criteria considered under the EPS could no more be considered to risk circumvention of the law than could the disclosure of any other agency’s enforcement priorities. For your consideration, I have attached the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Civil Immigration Enforcement: Priorities for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens.
The agency’s position that the minutes for meetings in which the EPS criteria were discussed are exempt under 552(b)(5) is similarly misguided. While I concede that some elements of the minutes may be exempt under (b)(5) for reasons of deliberative process, the majority of the minutes should be releasable with redactions. At the very least, the conclusions and any policy decisions reached by the Commission are not exempt under (b)(5). They are likewise not exempt under 7(E) for the reasons outlined above.
I have attached all communications with the Federal Election Commission regarding this request. As a result of these considerations, I respectfully ask that you use your authority to reverse the decision to withhold the documents referenced by the FEC’s denial letter.
Sincerely,
Alex Richardson
Enclosure: Original Request, Agency Response, ICE priorities document (http://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2011/110302washingtondc.pdf)
From:
FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20463
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Alex Richardson
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 16992
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
E-mail: requests@muckrock.com
Re: FEC Freedom of Information Act Appeal, No. 2015-03
Dear Mr. Richardson:
This letter is in response to the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) appeal you filed on April 22, 2015, and which was received in our
office April 29, 2015, regarding the Agency?s response to FOIA Request
2015-34, dated March 31, 2015, and received in our office April 1, 2015.
In FOIA Request 2015-34, you requested ?[a] copy of the criteria approved
by the Commission under its Enforcement Priority System for use by the OGC
in evaluating complaints and responses?; and ?[a] copy of the minutes for
the meeting(s) in which the Enforcement Priority System criteria were
discussed.? By email dated April 9, 2015, the FOIA Requester Service
Center responded to your FOIA request, denying the request in full
pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 5 and 7(E).
Upon a review of your FOIA appeal, the Commission has determined to uphold
the FOIA Requester Service Center?s determination to withhold the
Enforcement Priority System criteria pursuant to FOIA Exemption 7(E), 5
U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E), and to withhold most information in the Commission
Executive Session minutes pursuant to Exemption 7(E) and Exemption 5, 5
U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), but grant the FOIA appeal as to certain reasonably
segregable information in the Commission Executive Session minutes. As a
result, we are releasing the reasonably segregable non-exempt information
from the Executive Session minutes. See Attached. Accordingly, the
Commission has decided to grant in part and deny in part your FOIA appeal.
The 2007 FOIA amendments created the Office of Government Information
Services (OGIS) to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between
FOIA requesters and federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to
litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue
litigation. You may contact OGIS at:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Fax: 202-741-5769
Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448
You are advised that you may bring a civil action in U.S. District Court
with respect to any adverse FOIA determination. If you have any
questions, please contact the FOIA Requester Service Center at
FOIA@fec.gov, or (202) 694-1650.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Kahn
FOIA Requester Service Center
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