John C Boger (FBI/NARA)

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://foiaonline.regulations.gov:443/foia/action/public/view/request?objectId=090004d2817bb8ee)
* Tracking Number: NARA-NGC-2018-000249
* Requester Name: Emma Best
* Date Submitted: 01/22/2018
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: To Whom It May Concern: This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records: A copy of FBI file 100-HQ-3 Sub file 81-A, which per FBI relates to the deceased John C. Boger. I am a member of the news media and request classifcation 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 fles online and make them available through the non-proft 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 "qualifed because it also had “frm” 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

Dear Emma Best,

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act
request to the National Archives and Records Administration, via
FOIA@nara.gov.

Because you have requested access to historically permanent federal
records, we have forwarded your FOIA request, received in our office
January 23, 2018, to our Office of Research Services, Special Access and
FOIA staff, for further review and handling. As a result, you will be
assigned a tracking number by that office.

If you would like to follow up with that office directly, please contact
them at the address below, or electronically via email.

Special Access and FOIA Staff (RD-F)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740
By phone: 301-837-3190
By fax: 301-837-1864
By email: specialaccess_foia@nara.gov

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,
Matthew Heichelbech
Government Information Specialist Detailee
National Archives and Records Administration
Office of the General Council, Archives II
301-837-1934
matthew.heichelbech@nara.gov

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: foia@regulations.gov <foia@regulations.gov>
Date: Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 8:53 AM
Subject: FOIA Request Export: NARA-NGC-2018-000249
To: "matthew.heichelbech@nara.gov" <matthew.heichelbech@nara.gov>

Below is an export of the submitted request information for the FOIA
request NARA-NGC-2018-000249.

- *Name and Address*
- First Name: Emma
- Middle Initial:
- Last Name: Best
- Organization:
- Mailing Address Location: United States/U.S. Territories
- Address Line 1: MuckRock News, 411A Highland Ave
<https://maps.google.com/?q=411A+Highland+Ave&entry=gmail&source=g>
- Address Line 2: DEPT MR 47786
- City: Somerville
- State/Province: MA
- Zip/Postal Code: 02144
- *Contact Information*
- E-mail Address: requests@muckrock.com
- Phone Number:
- Fax Number:
- *Agency and Fee Information*
- Assigned Agency: NGC - Office of General Counsel
- Will Pay Up To: $0.00
- *Description*
- To Whom It May Concern: This is a request under the Freedom of
Information Act. I hereby request the following records: A copy
of FBI file
100-HQ-3 Sub file 81-A, which per FBI relates to the deceased John C.
Boger. I am a member of the news media and request classifcation
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 fles online and make them available through the
non-proft 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
"qualifed because it also had “frm” 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
- *Fee Waiver*
- Fee Waiver Requested: No
- Fee Waiver Reason:
- *Expedited Processing*
- Expedited Processing Requested: No
- Expedited Processing Reason:

Dear Ms. Best,

This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated
January 23, 2018 for records in the custody of the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA). You requested access to Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) case file 100-HQ-3 Sub file 81-A regarding John C.
Boger. Your request was received in this office on January 24, 2018 and
assigned reference number *RD 55895*.

We examined case file number 100-HQ-3 Sub file 81-A. Based on our review,
however, this file is deemed unresponsive to your request. The subject of
the file is the Communist Party USA – International Relations. It was
compiled between the years 1945 and 1980 and consists of approximately
9,000 pages within 40 sections. The vast majority of the file consists of
newspaper clippings. We did not see John C. Boger’s name in the file when
we examined it. It is possible that his name is mentioned in the file but
the information would probably not be substantial. As such, we will not be
reviewing case file 100-HQ-3 Sub file 81-A in response to your request.

We regret that we could not assist you further. This concludes the
processing of your request in this office. If you have additional
questions concerning your request, please contact me directly via email at
jennifer.namsiriwan@nara.gov.

We do not consider this response to be a denial of your request under the
terms of the FOIA because we have determined that the requested case file
is not pertinent to your subject of interest. However, if you consider
this to be a denial of your request, you have the right to file an
administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of
this letter via regular U.S. mail or email. By filing an appeal, you
preserve your rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and
reconsider your request and the agency’s decision. If you submit your
appeal in writing, please address it to the Deputy Archivist of the United
States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi
Road, College Park, Maryland 20740. Both the letter and the envelope
should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” If you
submit your appeal by email, please send it to FOIA@nara.gov, also
addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States. Please be sure to
explain why you believe this response does not meet the requirements of the
FOIA. All correspondence should reference your internal case tracking
number *RD 55895*.

If you would like to discuss our response before filing an appeal to
attempt to resolve your dispute without going through the appeals process,
you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison, Martha Wagner Murphy, for
assistance at:

FOIA Public Liaison: Martha Wagner Murphy
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Email: DC.foia.liaison@nara.gov
Telephone: 301-837-3270

If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through our FOIA Public
Liaison, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the Federal
FOIA Ombudsman’s office, offers mediation services to help resolve disputes
between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. The contact information for
OGIS is:

Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road – OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Email: ogis@nara.gov
ogis.archives.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Toll Free: 1-877-684-6448

Sincerely,

Jennifer Namsiriwan Crabb
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Branch (RD-F)
National Archives and Records Administration
https://www.archives.gov/research/foia

[image: Inline image 1]

Thank you for contacting the Office of Government Information Services. This is an auto reply message.

If you requested our assistance with resolving a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) dispute and have not done so already, please send us a brief description of your dispute and copies of your FOIA request, the agency’s response to your request, your appeal letter (if you filed an appeal), and the agency's response to your appeal (if received a response).

Send these documents to OGIS by email, fax, or mail. Our contact information is below in the signature block.

Due to an increased demand for our services, there may be a delay in our response. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to assisting you.

Sincerely,
The OGIS Staff
--
OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road (OGIS)
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Email: ogis@nara.gov
Phone: 202-741-5770
Fax: 202-741-5769
Website: https://www.archives.gov/ogis

Dear Ms. Best,

Thank you for your email requesting the status of FOIA request with the
FOIAonline tracking number NARA-NGC-2018-000249. I searched that number
in our FOIAonline account and in our internal FOIA log, and could not find
it. I think this is because the case was exported out of FOIAonline since
you were requesting records that might be archival (an FBI file). I see
from the email chain you sent that your request was referred to Research
Services, Special Access and FOIA and was assigned tracking number RD
55895. It appears from their response that the FBI file number you gave
them did not match the person or topic you were looking for.

I also noticed that you have also sent a request today to OGIS, the FOIA
Obudsman.

We cannot give a status update for a case already responded to by Special
Access. If you have asked OGIS for assistance on this request handled by
Special Access, then you need to contact OGIS directly:
ogis@nara.gov
Phone: 202-741-5770
Fax: 202-741-5769

If you have appealed the response by Special Access to the Deputy
Archivist, then we need your assigned Appeal tracking number to give you a
status update.

I will be out of the office next week. If you need further information
from our office, please contact Jodi Foor at Jodi.Foor@nara.gov on Monday,
August 27, 2018.

Sincerely,

Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3409
susan.gillett@nara.gov

I will be out of the office the week of August 27, 2018.   I will respond to your email when I return on September 4, 2018.  If you have a FOIA inquiry, please email Thank you. foia@nara.gov. (mailto:foia@nara.gov)
--

Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD 20740-6001 301-837-3409
susan.gillett@nara.gov (mailto:susan.gillett@nara.gov)

I will be out of the office on September 28 and October 1, 2018.  I will respond to your email when I return on October 2, 2018.  If you have a FOIA inquiry, please email Thank you. foia@nara.gov. (mailto:foia@nara.gov)
--
Susan Gillett Government Information Specialist Office of General Counsel National Archives and Records Administration College Park, MD 20740-6001 301-837-3409
susan.gillett@nara.gov

Dear Ms. Best:

Please see my email to you of August 24, 2018. It explains that your
request was exported out of FOIAonline, and referred to the Research
Services, Special Access and FOIA office because you were requesting an FBI
file. That office assigned you tracking number RD 55895, and answered your
request. They told you that they could find no records concerning John
Boger using the file number you gave. If you do not understand their
response, you need to contact that office directly using the contact
information below:

Special Access and FOIA Staff (RD-F)

8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500

College Park, MD 20740

By phone: 301-837-3190

By fax: 301-837-1864

By email: specialaccess_foia@nara.gov

Sincerely,

Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3409
susan.gillett@nara.gov

Dear Ms. Best:

Your email of August 29, 2018 started off with this sentence: " This is a
follow up to request number NARA-NGC-2018-000249:" So I thought we had
already answered this.
I went back today to look at this, and saw this question further down your
email: " What request did I send to OGIS on the 24th?" If this is what you
are looking for an answer to, then look further down in the email chain of
your August 29 email and you will see an automated reply to you from OGIS
that is dated August 24. OGIS is a separate office from our office and
does not process FOIA requests. Hopefully this answers your question.

Sincerely,

Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3409
susan.gillett@nara.gov

October 22, 2018

Emma Best
C/O MuckRock News
DEPT MR 47786
411A Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

*Re: RD 55895/NARA Appeal No. NGC19-004A*

Dear Ms. Best:

This is to advise you that on October 22, 2018, we received on behalf of
the Deputy Archivist of the United States, your administrative appeal dated
October 15, 2018 that you submitted by U.S. Mail. You are appealing the
determination of the Office of Research Services, Special Access and FOIA
in RD55895, concerning FBI file 100-HQ-3, Sub file 81-A. Your appeal has
been assigned tracking number NGC19-004A.

The Deputy Archivist of the United States has the responsibility to
adjudicate such appeals. In an attempt to afford each appellant equal and
impartial treatment, we have adopted a general practice of assigning
appeals in the approximate order of receipt. As stated above, your appeal
has been assigned number NGC19-004A. Please provide this number in any
future correspondence to this office regarding this matter. Please note,
if you provided an e-mail address or another electronic means of
communication with your appeal, this office may respond to you
electronically even if you submitted your appeal via regular U.S. Postal
Service.

We will notify you of the decision on your appeal as soon as we can. If
you have any questions about the status of your appeal, you may contact us
at *foia@nara.gov <foia@nara.gov>*.

Sincerely,

Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Rd.
College Park, MD 20740-6001

Dear Ms. Best,

Please see the attached FOIA appeal determination for NGC19-004A
adjudicated by the Deputy Archivist.

Sincerely,

Jodi L. Foor

Deputy Freedom of Information Act Officer/Archivist

National Archives and Records Administration

Office of General Counsel

College Park, MD

Your FOIAonline user account for requests@muckrock.com has been deactivated due to inactivity.