Feldmann's Ebola emails
Tracking # |
F-2016-02306 |
Submitted | Oct. 20, 2014 |
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Communications
From: Troy Carter
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
All emails sent to and from Heinz Feldmann at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases's Rocky Mountain Laboratories containing the word "Ebola" from Sept. 20, 2014 to Oct. 20, 2014.
I request expedited processing of this application on the grounds that there is widespread public and media interest in Ebola and an urgent need to inform the public about government activity concerning a national public health issue.
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,
Troy Carter
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
From: FOIA
Your message has been delivered to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
From: Moore, Marg (NIH/NIAID) [E]
Dear Mr. Carter - Attached please find our acknowledgement of your recent FOIA request. I know you have requested expedited processing and that request has been forwarded to the NIH FOIA Officer for determination. I wanted to make you aware that Dr. Feldmann is currently out of the office until the end of the month, leading a WHO Ebola Outbreak Response team performing diagnostics in Liberia. We will get these documents to you as soon as possible.
Best,
Margaret Moore
NIAID FOIA Office
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
An interim response, 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 Oct. 20, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #43027.
Thank you for your help.
From: Moore, Marg (NIH/NIAID) [E]
Mr. Carter – We are processing your FOIA request in the order it was received in the expedited processing queue.
Best,
Margaret Moore
From: Schofield, Robin (NIH/NIAID) [E]
Good Afternoon Mr. Carter:
I have just received the documents that are responsive to your FOIA request below. The hard copy documents consist of 5, 3 ring binders, 4-5 inches thick full of double-sided pages. Before I begin processing these, I would like to verify that you still want the documents and inquire whether there is some way you could target your request so we could get it to you more quickly. Presently, we have two request ahead of yours in the "Expedited Processing" queue.
Lastly, Dr. Feldmann has identified information in the e-mails that relates to experimental vaccines/therapeutics and other intellectual property. Only the NIH FOIA Officer has the authority to review and determine the releasability of this information. Therefore, once I process your request, I will have to forward it to NIH FOIA for review and release.
I am committed to getting you the information you want as quickly as possible. Please advise on how you would like me to proceed.
Thank you.
Best regards,
Robin
Robin L. Schofield, MPS
FOIA Coordinator
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Begin forwarded message:
From: Troy Carter
Dear Robin,
Yes - I want the documents. I understand that you have identified a large response to my request.
To expedite the processing I will narrow my request to the first printed page of every email if you agree to retain the entire original collection long enough for me to review those pages and make an additional request(s) in a reasonable amount of time.
Thanks for your help. If you have questions about what I'm proposing feel free to call.
-Troy Carter
406-539-4829
From: Schofield, Robin (NIH/NIAID) [E]
Hi Troy,
I haven't done a request like this before but we can give it a shot! I will make the change and get the materials to you as quickly as possible. Thanks!
Robin
Robin L. Schofield
NIAID FOIA Coordinator
Sent from my iPhone
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 Oct. 20, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #43027.
Thank you for your help.
From: Schofield, Robin (NIH/NIAID) [E]
Good Morning Mr. Carter,
I am processing your request in the order it was received and approved for expedited processing. As I mentioned, the response is voluminous and there are two cases ahead of yours in our expedited processing queue. Simply pulling the first page from hundreds of emails is time consuming. I hope to have it sent to NIH FOIA for review in the next couple of weeks. I cannot release it myself since it contains material originating with Federal agencies outside of NIAID and proprietary information that I do not have the authority to deny. I do not know what the caseload at NIH FOIA looks like but I am sure they will process it as quickly as possible.
Regards,
Robin
Robin Schofield
NIAID FOIA Coordinator
Sent from my iPhone
From: Troy Carter
Hi Robin,
It was an automatic message. I understand and thank you for your assistance.
-Troy
From: Schofield, Robin (NIH/NIAID) [E]
Good morning Troy,
I wanted to give you an update on your request referenced above. As I mentioned, I received the files from Dr. Feldman's office, and a number of potentially proprietary items have been identified. Normally, we are able to use a software program to sort out duplicates and compile the most recent string of an e-mail, however, in this case, I am required to do it by hand because of the format of the files. Once I have finished identifying the most recent e-mail in a string, eliminating the duplicates, and pulling only the first pages, I will have to conduct what is known as pre-disclosure notification to any company that submitted ideas or data to Dr. Feldmann during the time period. They will be given an opportunity to identify material that would be properly excluded under Exemption 4 and to provide a justification. Once I have negotiated the material to be withheld under Exemption 4 with the various parties, I will have to forward the package to the NIH FOIA Officer to do a partial denial of the Exemption 4 material and coordinate the review of any material that originated with government entities outside of NIAID (such as HHS). I am finishing up the last case ahead of yours, so I will begin work on your files next week. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.
Robin
Robin L. Schofield, MPS
FOIA Coordinator
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
From: Moore, Marg (NIH/NIAID) [E]
Dear Mr. Carter: Could you kindly call me at 301-451-5109 to discuss your FOIA request (Case #43027)? I left you a message last week and when I tried to call you again today I was unable to leave a message (the phone rang and went dead). Thank you.
Best,
Margaret Moore
NIAID FOIA Office
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A fix is required to perfect the request. The request has been rejected as being too vague, burdensome or otherwise unprocessable.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A cover letter granting the request and outlining any exempted materials, if any.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Boyd, Shirley
None
From: Henson, Terry A - APHIS
Mr. Carter:
Attached is the reply to your FOIA Request which was referred to our office from NIH - NIAID. The correspondence includes a response letter and 4 pages of responsive records. Should you have any questions regarding this response I can be reached at 301/851-4086.
Thanks!
Terry Henson
Management Analyst
LPA, Freedom of Information
and Privacy Act
301/851-4086 (office)
301/734-5941 (fax)
From: Wilusz, Catherine
Good morning Mr. Carter,
I am attaching the response to your Freedom of Information Request Case No 43027 of a record that was referred to the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at FDA for direct response to you. If you would prefer to have this record in paper copy, please let me know.
Respectfully,
Catherine Wilusz
Consumer Safety Officer
Access Litigation and Freedom of Information Branch
Office of Communication, Outreach and Development
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Food and Drug Administration
240-402-8008
From:
February 8, 2016
Request Number: 16-00354-FOIA
Dear Mr. Carter:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of October 20, 2014, for “all emails sent to and from Heinz Feldmann at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease's Rocky Mountain Laboratories containing the word "Ebola" from September 20, 2014 to October 20, 2014.”
From:
February 8, 2016
Request Number: 16-00354-FOIA
Dear Mr. Carter:
This is regarding your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of October 20, 2014 for emails to/fromHeinz Feldmann (NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories) containing the word "ebola" (Sept. 20, 2014-Oct. 20, 2014).
Please see the attached letter.
Sincerely,
CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: STFOIA
Dear Mr. Carter:
Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. Please review the attached letter regarding your FOIA request.
Thanks,
FOIA Office
Science and Technology Directorate
Department of Homeland Security
Office: (202) 254-8801
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A cover letter granting the request and outlining any exempted materials, if any.
From:
April 6, 2016
Request Number: 16-00354-FOIA
Dear Mr. Carter:
This is regarding your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of October 20, 2014, for emails to/fromHeinz Feldmann (NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories) containing the word "ebola" (Sept. 20, 2014-Oct. 20, 2014).
Please see the attached letter.
Sincerely,
CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office
From:
April 6, 2016
Request Number: 16-00354-FOIA
Dear Mr. Carter:
This is regarding your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of October 20, 2014, for emails to/fromHeinz Feldmann (NIAID Rocky Mountain Laboratories) containing the word "ebola" (Sept. 20, 2014-Oct. 20, 2014).
Please see the attached letter.
Sincerely,
CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A cover letter granting the request and outlining any exempted materials, if any.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A cover letter granting the request and outlining any exempted materials, if any.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Troy Carter
Hi,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Troy Carter
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