Leak referrals and consultations (United States Secret Service)

Submitted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 - 12:48
Submitted by user: Anonymous
Submitted values are:

Select the DHS component you wish to submit your request to: : United States
Secret Service (USSS)
Title:
First Name: Emma
Middle Initial:
Last Name: Best
Suffix:
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com
Country: United States
Address 1: MuckRock News DEPT MR 73737
Address 2: 411A Highland Ave
City: Somerville
State: Massachusetts
Zip Code: 02144
Telephone Number:
Fax Number:
Are you requesting records on yourself? No
If yes, you must check the perjury statement:
By initialing here you are providing your electronic signature.:
Please describe the records you are seeking as clearly and precisely as
possible:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:

Copies of documents, including but not limited to emails, memos, letters,
reports, briefs and call logs, referring to, discussing or generated as a
result of referrals to and consultations with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and other components of the Department of Justice (Criminal
Division, Civil Division, National Security Division, the Attorney General's
office, etc.), regarding instances of unauthorized disclosures of information
(AKA leaks) for investigation and/or prosecution between January 20, 1981 (or
the date of creation of this agency, whichever came first) and the present.

I request "news media" status and a fee waiver, see attached.

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,

Emma Best

Attachments:

https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/TheEmmaBest/70885/Fee20category20and20search20parameters.pdf
Upload documents directly:
https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://accounts.muckrock.com/accounts/login/?url_auth_token=AAAjy-FAQM1KXzns09svsFIL5Ac%3A1hWO9O%3AKy030KRFxO5ldaVzfd-8rywHKb8&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.muckrock.com%2Faccounts%2Flogin%2F%3Fnext%3D%252Faccounts%252Fagency_login%252Funited-states-secret-service-71%252Fleak-referrals-and-consultations-united-states-secret-service-74150%252F%253Femail%253DFOIA%252540usss.dhs.gov
I am willing to pay fees for this request up to the amount of: $: 1
Select from the list below: A representative of the news media seeking
information as part of a news gathering effort and not for commercial use.
I request a waiver of all fees for this request.: I request a waiver of all
fees for this request.
Please provide an explanation for your request for a fee waiver:
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have
previously written about the government and its activities, with some
reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock,
Motherboard, Property of the People, AND Magazine, Unicorn Riot, and more. 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 non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and and
the journalist non-profit, MuckRock, 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 my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting
on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
Please select and describe in detail if you believe your request warrants
expeditious handling:
Please provide information to support your selection:

Dear Requester, Attached you will find the finalresponse regarding your Freedom of Information Act & Privacy Actrequest.  If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contactthis office by replying to this email or calling us at (202) 406-6370. Thank you, Freedom of Information Act &Privacy Act Program United States Secret Service 245 Murray Lane, SW, Building T-5 Washington, DC 20223 Phone: (202) 406-6370 Fax: (202) 406-5586 Email: FOIA@USSS.DHS.GOV

All e-mail to/from this account is subject to official review and is for official use only. Action may be taken in response to any inappropriate use of the Secret Service's e-mail system. This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, law enforcement sensitive, or subject to other disclosure limitations. Such information is loaned to you and should not be further disseminated without the permission of the Secret Service. If you have received this e-mail in error, do not keep, use, disclose, or copy it; notify the sender immediately and delete it.  ­­