Guantanamo Periodic Review Board representatives (Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense)
| Tracking # |
14-084-S |
| Submitted | Jan. 28, 2014 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
-The name and job title of your agency's representative on the Periodic Review Board, which is charged with assessing the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The existence of this Board, as well as your agency's involvement, has been widely reported. The most recent example is here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/28/public-look-guantanamo-detainee-review-board-obama
-All Talking Points memos generated within, or shared with, your agency regarding the Periodic Review Board from January 1, 2011 to the date this request is processed.
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,
Todd Feathers
From: Charles Marye
Dear Todd Feathers:
This is an interim response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated January 29, 2014, which was received in this office on January 29, 2014. Your request has been assigned case number 14-F-0382 and we ask that you use that number when referring to your request.
With regard to your request for a waiver of any applicable fees, a fee waiver is appropriate when "disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester." 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(iii) In making a determination, six factors are considered as to whether your request satisfies this statutory standard: (1) whether the subject of the requested records concerns the operations or activities of the government; (2) whether the disclosure is likely to contribute to an understanding of government operations or activities; (3) whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to the understanding of the general public; (4) whether the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations and activities; (5) whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and, (6) whether any such commercial interest outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
While the requested information does concern the operations and activities of the government and does not appear to be intended for a commercial interest, it is not clear how the responsive documents - should they exist - would significantly contribute to the public understanding of the operations and activities of the government. After carefully reviewing your request I am denying your fee waiver request because the information stated does not support how the documents will significantly contribute to the public's increased understanding of the operations and activities of government. Please be aware that we reserve the right to grant a fee waiver should a search find documents that meet the criterion of a public interest fee waiver as described in the previous paragraph.
I have determined that you should be placed in the "other" category for fee purposes as you have indicated that you do not seek access to these records for commercial purposes. The "other" fee category affords you two hours of search time and 100 pages of duplication free of charge. As you did not provide any willingness to pay, search will be halted after your two free hours have been expended. If you wish to add a willingness to pay, please contact the action officer assigned to your request at your earliest convenience.
We will be unable to respond to your request within the FOIA’s 20 day statutory time period as there are unusual circumstances which impact on our ability to quickly process your request. These unusual circumstances are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. For these reasons, your request has been placed in our complex processing queue and will be worked in the order the request was received. Our current administrative workload is 1554 open requests.
If you would like to discuss how to limit your request in order to speed the processing time, we would be pleased to discuss how you might modify your request. The action officer assigned to your request is Charles Marye at (571) 372-0407. The toll free number for this Office is 866-574-4970. You may not be aware that we maintain a website and electronic reading room at: http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/.
If you are not satisfied with this action, you may appeal to the appellate authority, the Director of Administration and Management, Office of the Secretary of Defense, by writing directly to the Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office, Attn: Mr. James Hogan, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-1155. Your appeal should be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter, should cite the case number 14-F-0382, and should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."
Thank you,
Charles Marye
Office of Freedom of Information
Department of Defense
1155 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1155
FAX: (571) 372-0500
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 Jan. 28, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thank you for your help.
From: Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-F-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD FOIA OFFICE
(571) 372-0407
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
Attached is the final response to your FOIA request.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD FOIA OFFICE
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
From: Todd Feathers
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to appeal the rejection of my FOIA request to the Office of the secretary of Defense (#14-F-0382) based on the grounds that the documents in question are "in litigation" and therefore exempt.
In my original Jan. 28 request, I asked for a document verifying the name and job title of the Office of the Secretary of Defense's representative on the Guantanamo Bay Periodic Review Board. I also requested all talking point memos generated within, or shared with, the Secretary's office since Jan. 1, 2011 regarding the Periodic Review Board.
The Secretary's office has not indicated if all the documents I requested are in litigation, or even what is meant by litigation. If the documents are the subject of a particular lawsuit, that may qualify them for an exemption. But if they are simply documents related to a body that deals with legal issues, that does qualify under the litigation exemption.
To begin with, talking point memos are inherently composed of information that an agency is willing to discuss publicly, as they are guides for public discourse. As such, it is absurd to suggest that releasing them would interfere with criminal investigations or litigation.
With regards to my request for the name and job title of the Secretary's representative,
I fail to see how the name of that representative can be in litigation.
The Periodic Review Board is a "discretionary, administrative interagency process" that "does not address the legality of any individual’s detention," according to its website.
The board is not a judicial or prosecutorial body and does not litigate, nor are its members investigators or litigators. The board's website states that it is a "decision-making panel" that assesses the threats individual detainees pose to the United States.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense
A letter stating that the request appeal has been succesful.
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-A-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD/JS Office of Freedom of Information
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-A-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD/JS Office of Freedom of Information
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-A-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD/JS Office of Freedom of Information
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-A-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD/JS Office of Freedom of Information
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-A-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD/JS Office of Freedom of Information
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-A-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Marye
OSD/JS Office of Freedom of Information
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
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 Jan. 28, 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 #14-A-0382.
Thank you for your help.
From: Marye, Charles C CIV WHS ESD (US)
Mr. Feathers,
We continue to process your request. It is our policy that each request receives prompt attention, and every effort is made to treat all requesters equally. As previously noted, and unfortunately, our backlog of open requests at the time your request was received was over 1,554. Once I receive a response, all releasable records, if any, cannot be provided to you until all processing is completed. As soon as that occurs, I will send you a formal response letter to your request. Please note all documents are reviewed before we respond. Further note the unusual circumstances concerning your cases are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this Office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. These 3 factors do have an impact on the processing of your case. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Charles Marye
OSD/JS Office of Freedom of Information
(571) 372-0407
NIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.mil
SIPR: charles.c.marye.civ@mail.smil.mil
From: Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense
A no responsive documents response.
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