History of TSD
| Tracking # |
F-2017-01485 |
| Submitted | April 18, 2017 |
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Communications
From: Michael Best
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
Copies of the following histories from the Clandestine Services Historical Series:
CSHP 353: History of TSD – Far East (Volumes I-X)
CSHP 363: History of TSD – Europe
CSHP 364: History of TSD – Near East/Africa
CSHP 365: History of TSD – Western Hemisphere
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. That the records will be informative of the government's historical activities is demonstrated by the fact that these are the Agency's own histories. Thus, the Agency has already deemed them historically significant.
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: 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 April 18, 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: Central Intelligence Agency
An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.
From: Central Intelligence Agency
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 April 18, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2017-01485.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Central Intelligence Agency
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 April 18, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2017-01485.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Central Intelligence Agency
The request has been rejected by the agency.
From: Emma North-Best
I am appealing the GLOMAR response in its entirety, as the Agency has already affirmed the existence of the histories, as well as the fact that the series in question is not part of "operational files."
From: Central Intelligence Agency
A letter stating that the request appeal has been rejected.
From:
Dear Requester:
Attached is the final response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) query of 18 April 2017. Please review the attachment, and should you have any questions, please call the CIA FOIA Hotline at +1 (703) 613-1287.
Regards,
Public Access Requests Branch
Central Intelligence Agency
_________________________________________________________________________________
Warning - Please DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail. This e-mail is used solely to provide a response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and is not a means of communicating with CIA regarding your request. As a result, the account from which this message originated is not routinely monitored. Should you have any questions or concerns about our response, please call the CIA FOIA Hotline at +1 (703) 613-1287.
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