Gavin MacFadyen
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
52226 |
| Submitted | Feb. 8, 2017 |
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Communications
From: Michael Best
To Whom It May Concern:
By the power vested in me under the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Records relating to or mentioning Gavin Hall MacFadyen (né Galter; January 1, 1940 – October 22, 2016) who was an American investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker. In recent years, his work focused on facilitating and protecting whistleblowing activities. He was closely linked to Julian Assange and formed the official Julian Assange Defense Committee, which raises funds to pay the legal expenses of Assange and other Wikileaks staff. His death has been widely reported. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gavin-macfadyen-defender-of-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-dies-at-76/2016/10/24/69089e30-99f2-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048_story.html I am especially, but not exclusively, interested in materials from the FBI files 100-HQ-440363, 100-WF-41792, 100-HQ-344527, 62-HQ-107350 as described in the letter from the FBI at: https://d3gn0r3afghep.cloudfront.net/foia_files/2017/02/08/1-30-17_MR29370_REJ_ID1363407-000.pdf
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities for AND Magazine, MuckRock and Glomar Disclosure and have an open arrangement with each. My articles have been widely read, with some reaching over 100,000 readers. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through the non-profit Internet Archive, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance. Additionally, case law states that “proof of the ability to disseminate the released information to a broad cross-section of the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 365 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy." Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media. Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category. As such, my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available and I therefore request that fees be waived, particularly given the public interest in the subject of the request (due to his connection to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks).
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
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.
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,
Michael Best
From: Wanda Williams
*RE: MUCKROCK REQUEST FORWARDED TO SPECIAL ACCESS AND FOIA *
Dear Mr. Michael Best,
Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act
request to the National Archives and Records Administration, via
foia@nara.gov.
Due to the nature of your request, we have forwarded your request to
our *Office
of Research Services, Special Access and FOIA* division, for appropriate
handling. Federal records are transferred to NARA no earlier than 15 years
and as late as 30 years from the date the document was created. You will
be assigned a new tracking number by that office within the next 20
business days. If you would like to follow up with that office directly,
please contact them at: specialaccess_FOIA@nara.gov.
For your reference, your original submission is below.
Thank you for contacting the National Archives and please visit our website
at: www.archives.gov/foia for further information.
Please also visit our main website, www.archives.gov, to learn more about
the many exciting resources we offer the public.
Sincerely,
Wanda Williams
Deputy Freedom of Information Act Officer/Archivist
National Archives and Records Administration
Office of General Counsel
College Park, Maryland
301-837-0773 work
301-875-3028 cell
wanda.williams@nara.gov
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <
requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 8, 2017 at 4:06 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information Request: Gavin MacFadyen
To: foia@nara.gov
February 8, 2017
National Archives and Records Administration
FOIA Officer
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 3110
College Park, MD 20740
To Whom It May Concern:
By the power vested in me under the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby
request the following records:
Records relating to or mentioning Gavin Hall MacFadyen (né Galter; January
1, 1940 – October 22, 2016) who was an American investigative journalist
and documentary filmmaker. In recent years, his work focused on
facilitating and protecting whistleblowing activities. He was closely
linked to Julian Assange and formed the official Julian Assange Defense
Committee, which raises funds to pay the legal expenses of Assange and
other Wikileaks staff. His death has been widely reported.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gavin-macfadyen-
defender-of-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-dies-at-76/
2016/10/24/69089e30-99f2-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048_story.html I am especially,
but not exclusively, interested in materials from the FBI files
100-HQ-440363, 100-WF-41792, 100-HQ-344527, 62-HQ-107350 as described in
the letter from the FBI at: https://d3gn0r3afghep.cloudfront.net/foia_files/
2017/02/08/1-30-17_MR29370_REJ_ID1363407-000.pdf
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have
previously written about the government and its activities for AND
Magazine, MuckRock and Glomar Disclosure and have an open arrangement with
each. My articles have been widely read, with some reaching over 100,000
readers. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my
editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss
and comment on the files online and make them available through the
non-profit Internet Archive, disseminating them to a large audience. While
my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this,
focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such,
it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular
subject in advance. Additionally, case law states that “proof of the
ability to disseminate the released information to a broad cross-section of
the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 365
F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19
F.3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified
because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document
sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy."
Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media.
Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the
nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the
request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. §
552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a
representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is
in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the
details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the
appropriate fee category. As such, my primary purpose is to inform about
government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available
and I therefore request that fees be waived, particularly given the public
interest in the subject of the request (due to his connection to Julian
Assange and WikiLeaks).
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
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.
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,
Michael Best
------
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock
DEPT MR 33078
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
------
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 Feb. 8, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Special Access and FOIA e-mail
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.
From: Rebecca Calcagno
Dear Mr. Best:
Please find our response to your Freedom of Information Act attached.
Rebecca
--
Rebecca Calcagno, Ph.D., M.L.S.
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Branch (RD-F)
National Archives at College Park
Phone: (301) 837-2986
From: Rebecca Calcagno
Dear Mr. Best:
Assuming the weather allows, I can have a CD prepared for Friday. I will
send instructions on which research room to use once the CD is created.
Best wishes,
Rebecca
--
Rebecca Calcagno, Ph.D., M.L.S.
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Branch (RD-F)
National Archives at College Park
Phone: (301) 837-2986
From: Special Access and FOIA e-mail
Hi,
The response to your FOIA request was mailed this morning.
If you have any other questions, please let me know!
Thank you!
Jessie
From: Rebecca Calcagno
Dear Mr. Best,
I have burned a CD with the redacted documents for FOIA case 52226. It is
available in the Motion Picture, Sound & Video Research Room, which is
room 4000
on the fourth floor of the College Park, MD facility. Your records will be
on hold in room 4000 under your surname. Please let the person at the front
desk know that that you have a FOIA CD with the Motion Picture Reference
Staff. You may bring a thumb drive, blank CD/DVD, or laptop with a CD/DVD
drive to make copies of the records. If you are in the Microfilm Reading
Room, you are in the wrong room and the staff at the front desk will not
have your records.
The staff will hold the CD for three days from the date of your anticipated
visit, Friday, March 17, 2017.
Please note that you will need a researcher card to access the records. If
you do not have a researcher card, there is a room to the right of the
building entrance where you can get one.
Best,
Rebecca
--
Rebecca Calcagno, Ph.D., M.L.S.
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Branch (RD-F)
National Archives at College Park
Phone: (301) 837-2986
From: National Archives and Records Administration
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Materials
Forwarded along from Mike Best.
Files
pages