Mezuzah at Naval Observatory

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=DON-NAVY-2022-001711&type=request)

* Tracking Number: DON-NAVY-2022-001711
* Requester Name:
Russel Neiss
* Date Submitted: 11/18/2021
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

On on Oct. 7 the Vice President and Second Gentleman installed a mezuzah on the doorpost of Number One Observatory Circle. This event was reported by the Forward (https://forward.com/fast-forward/478353/harris-and-emhoff-place-mezuzah-on-doorpost-of-vice-presidents-residence/) and by the Second Gentleman himself (https://twitter.com/SecondGentleman/status/1461362649841627159)

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

Any communications between the office of the Vice President or the Second Gentleman and those at the Navy responsible for the upkeep of Number One Observatory Circle about this event, or about the permissibility of affixing an object to Number One Observatory Circle's doors.

Please limit this request to the period between April 7, 2021 and October 10, 2021.

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,

Russel Neiss

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

Good Day -
Your FOIA request is currently under review and a search for any documents that are responsive to your request has been initiated.  Our office is working diligently to perfect your request.  Please continue to monitor your email for updates.  Our office will contact you directly if we need any additional information to process your FOIA request for documents.  Thank you.
Patricia Williams-Butler
Management Analyst & FOIA Coordinator
CNIC HQs, Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day -
Your FOIA request is currently under review and a search for any documents that are responsive to your request has been initiated.  Our office is working diligently to perfect your request.  Please continue to monitor your email for updates.  Our office will contact you directly if we need any additional information to process your FOIA request for documents.  Thank you.
Patricia Williams-Butler
Management Analyst & FOIA Coordinator
CNIC HQs, Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA program office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.  The documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program upon completion of the OSD FOIA review process.
Our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.   I will contact you when I have more info concerning the completion of the OSD FOIA review process.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA program office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content. As of 03/09/2022, the documents are still with the OSD FOIA office under review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program to be processed for release to you.
Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.   I will contact you when I have more info concerning the completion of the OSD FOIA review process.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA program office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content. As of 04/19/2022, the documents are still with the OSD FOIA office under review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program to be processed for release to you.    Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.   I will contact you when I have more info concerning the completion of the OSD FOIA review process. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command
Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA program office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.  As of 05/09/2022, the documents are still  in the possesion of the OSD FOIA office for mandatory review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program office to be processed for release to you.
Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office from the OSD FOIA office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.   I will contact you when I have more info concerning the completion of the OSD FOIA review process.  Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA program office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.  As of 06/22/2022, the documents are still  in the possesion of the OSD FOIA office for mandatory review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program office to be processed for release to you.
Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office from the OSD FOIA office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.   I will contact you when I have more info concerning the completion of the OSD FOIA review process.  Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command
Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA program office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.  As of 07/11/2022, the documents are still  in the possesion of the OSD FOIA office for mandatory review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program office to be processed for release to you.
Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office from the OSD FOIA office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.   I will contact you when I have more info concerning the completion of the OSD FOIA review process.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Afternoon,

Can you please provide the OSD/JS FOIA Case # at your earliest convenience for
DON-NAVY-2022-001711? Any response at your earliest convenience is much
appreciated. Thank you.

V/R,

George Pugh

Senior FOIA Analyst

Freedom of Information Division

OSD / JS FOIA Office

(571) 372-0445

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for reaching out to our office at OSD/JS FOIA. Please note, you would need to reach out to NAVY FOIA in regards to your status update for DON-NAVY-2022-001711. NAVY FOIA would have the information you are seeking. NAVY FOIA’s contact information is listed below for your convenience.

<mailto:usn.ncr.dns.mbx.don-foia-pa@us.navy.mil> usn.ncr.dns.mbx.don-foia-pa@us.navy.mil

Please let our office know if you need anything else. Have a wonderful day.

V/R,

George Pugh

Senior FOIA Analyst

Freedom of Information Division

OSD / JS FOIA Office

(571) 372-0445

Dear Russel Neiss <requests@muckrock.com>,
Your password has been updated per your request. You can change your password in the future from your
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FOIAonline Team (mailto:foiaonline@cnservicedesk.net)

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The assigned FOIA request tracking number, DON-NAVY-2022-001711, remains the same throughout the document review process and regardless of the agency reviewing responsive documents.
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA Program Office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.  As of 07/27/2022, the documents remian in the possesion of the OSD FOIA office for completion of its mandatory review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program office to be processed for release to you.
Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office from the OSD FOIA office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.
Due to lengthiness of the mandatory OSD review process, you are advised you have the option of withdrawing your FOIA request. The CNIC FOIA Program office IS NOT instructing or recommending you withdraw your request but only informing you of your option to do so.  If you desire to withdraw your FOIA request, please do so in writing via a reply to this correspondence within 30 days.
Our office will continue to keep you informed of the status of your request.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command
Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The assigned FOIA request tracking number, DON-NAVY-2022-001711, remains the same throughout the document review process and regardless of the agency reviewing responsive documents.   The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA Program Office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.
As of 08/30/2022, the documents remain in the possesion of the OSD FOIA office for completion of its mandatory review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program office to be processed for release to you.
Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office from the OSD FOIA office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.
Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.
Due to lengthiness of the mandatory OSD review process, you are advised you have the option of withdrawing your FOIA request. The CNIC FOIA Program office IS NOT instructing or recommending you withdraw your request but only informing you of your option to do so.  If you desire to withdraw your FOIA request, please do so in writing via a reply to this correspondence within 30 days.
Our office will continue to keep you informed of the status of your request.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator
Commander Navy Installations Command
Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
Our office notified you on 08/30/2022 documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA Program Office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.  As of 08/30/2022, the documents remain in the possesion of the OSD FOIA office for completion of its mandatory review.
You were also advised due to lengthiness of the mandatory OSD review process, you have the option of withdrawing your FOIA request.
Should you desire to continue forward with the FOIA request, our office will keep you informed of the status of your request.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office from the OSD FOIA office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible. If you desire to withdraw your FOIA request, please do so in writing via a reply to this correspondence within 30 days, on or before 10/14/2022.
If our office does not receive a written response informing us of your intentions to continue forward with the request or withdraw your FOIA request, your request will be administratively closed without further action.
CNIC FOIA Program Office, Washington Navy Yard, DC

Mr. Neiss -
Thank you for your response on 09/16/2022.  I have notified CNO DNS36 office you would like to continue forward with FOIA request despite the lengthy OSD review process and asked for a current status update.  I will continue to regularly check in with DNS36 for status updates on the completion of OSD FOIA's mandatory review and keep you informed of the progress of your request.
Thank you.
CNIC HQs FOIA Program Office
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good Day, Mr. Neiss -
The documents collected in response to your FOIA request were sent on 12/01/2021 to the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) FOIA program office for mandatory review.  Review of the documents by the OSD FOIA office is mandatory due to the high visibility, sensitive nature of the documents and any potential for national security content.  As of 10/17/2022, the documents are still  in the possesion of the OSD FOIA office for mandatory review.  Upon completion, the documents will be routed back to the Commander Navy Installations Command FOIA program office to be processed for release to you.
Unfortunately, our office is not able to give you an estimated completion date of the OSD FOIA review at this time.  Upon receipt of the documents in our office from the OSD FOIA office, they will be processed for release to you as expeditiously as possible.  Your continued patience is requested and appreciated as the review process continues forward.   I will contact you when I have more info concerning the completion of the OSD FOIA review process.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Patricia Williams-Butler
FOIA Coordinator Commander Navy Installations Command
Office of General Counsel
Washington Navy Yard, DC

Good afternoon Mr. Neiss,

I am the Temporary FOIA Coordinator at Commander, Navy Installations Command
(CNIC). I am writing regarding your FOIA request DON-NAVY-2022-001711.

I apologize for the delay, but please know that your request is still being
reviewed, and we will continue to diligently process your request. However,
in case anything has changed and if you are no longer interested in pursuing
this request, please kindly let me know.

Should you have any questions or concerns, or if you wish to inquire about
an update, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at the email
address below.

V/R,

Elizabeth Retter

LCDR, JAGC, USNR

Temporary FOIA Coordinator

Commander, Navy Installations Command

Email: <mailto:elizabeth.v.retter.mil@us.navy.mil>
elizabeth.v.retter.mil@us.navy.mil

Good evening Mr. Neiss,

Thank you for forwarding this. Unfortunately, from what I can see, your
requested documents are still in the possession of the OSD FOIA office for
mandatory review. The same day I reached out to you, I also reached out to
the Department of the Navy Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
FOIA/Privacy Act Program (DNS 36), in order to request an update about your
case. I have not heard back yet.

If you would like to contact them directly, their email address is:
usn.ncr.dns.mbx.don-foia-pa@us.navy.mil
<mailto:usn.ncr.dns.mbx.don-foia-pa@us.navy.mil> . Their phone number is
202-685-0412. Please note that they do not hold your records (OSD does) but
they should be able to get an update from OSD for you.

I will also let you know as soon as I hear back from them.

There is not much CNIC can do while the records are with OSD, but once we
receive your records from OSD, we will process them as expeditiously as
possible.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me, and thank you for your
patience in this process.

V/R,

Elizabeth Retter

LCDR, JAGC, USNR

Temporary FOIA Coordinator

Commander, Navy Installations Command

Email: <mailto:elizabeth.v.retter.mil@us.navy.mil>
elizabeth.v.retter.mil@us.navy.mil

Good morning Mr. Neiss,

I apologize, I am no longer the FOIA Coordinator at CNIC, the new FOIA Coordinator is Ms. Cador (cc'ed). I just forwarded your email to her, and please feel free to reach out to her with any further questions.

V/R,
Elizabeth Retter
LCDR, JAGC, USNR

Good morning Mr. Neiss,

I am no longer the FOIA Coordinator at CNIC. For future questions, please reach out to Ms. Cador (cc’ed).

V/R,
Elizabeth Retter
LCDR, JAGC, USNR

Good afternoon Mr. Neiss,

Unfortunately, from what I can see, your requested documents are still in
the possession of the OSD FOIA office for mandatory review. I have reached
out to OSD, for a status update. I will send a follow up email once I have
heard from them.

You can also reach out to Department of the Navy Office of the Chief of
Naval Operations
FOIA/Privacy Act Program (DNS 36), in order to request an update about your
case via email at:

usn.ncr.dns.mbx.don-foia-pa@us.navy.mi
<mailto:usn.ncr.dns.mbx.don-foia-pa@us.navy.mi> or via phone at
202-685-0412. Please note that they (DNS 36) do not hold your records (OSD
does), but they should be able to get an update from OSD for you.

There is not much CNIC can do while the records are with OSD, but once we
receive your records from OSD, we will process them as expeditiously as
possible.

Very Respectfully,

Michelle Cador

Management Analyst/Paralegal

FOIA Coordinator

Office of the General Counsel

Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC)

716 Sicard Street SE, Suite 207

Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5140

Office Cell: 202.489.1707

Office Hours: 0600-1430

The CORPS raised me, the ARMY trained me, and the NAVY retired me! Failure
is not an option!!

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POC: M. Cador,
<mailto:michelle.m.cador.civ@us.navy.mil> michelle.m.cador.civ@us.navy.mil,