Napolitano emails with Charles K. Edwards (DHS OIG)

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All emails between Janet Napolitano and Charles K. Edwards from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013.

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,

Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 25, 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 #2014-107.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

Hello -

I am willing to withdraw this particular request in the interest of allowing others to proceed in processing. I would highlight, however, that this is the first communication I have received regarding this particular FOIA request in more than 3 years. Encouraging as it is to hear that DHS OIG might be whittling away at its FOIA backlog, this is discouraging as a reporter whose work relies on government transparency.

Furthermore, I would highlight that the response timeframe this "still interested" letter affords — 15 calendar days — contradicts the 2015 guidance on such letters as issued by the Justice Department, Office of Information Policy (see online here: https://www.justice.gov/oip/oip-guidance-8): "It is very important that all agencies afford requesters a reasonable amount of time to provide a response to a “still-interested” inquiry. While OIP advised agencies in its 2010 guidance to provide a reasonable amount of time for requesters to respond, OIP believes it is important to establish a floor, or minimum number of days that all agencies provide requesters. Going forward, the time period to allow requesters to respond to “still-interested” inquiries should be no shorter than thirty (30) working days."

I will forward a copy of your "still interested" letter to the Office of Government Information Services and to the DHS OIG FOIA Public Liaison.

Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave

DHS Office of the Inspector General, OIG Office of Counsel
245 Murray Lane SW Mail Stop - 0305
Washington, D.C. 20528-0305

National Archives and Records Administration
Office of Government Information Services
8601 Adelphi Road - OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001

To Whom It May Concern:

I received the attached "still interested" letter from the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General on August 16, 2017. Please note the following timing requirement in the letter: "We will assume you are no longer interested in this FOIA request and will administratively close this case if we do not receive your response within 15 calendar days from the date of this letter."

This provision contradicts the timing provisions as established in the Office of Information Policy's 2015 guidance on such "still interested" letters — under the 2015 guidance, agencies are to provide requesters with 30 working days to respond. See "Limitations on Use of “Still-Interested” Inquiries," July 20, 2015, available online at https://www.justice.gov/oip/oip-guidance-8. Given this inconsistency and OGIS's interest in assuring agencies conform to relevant guidelines, I am passing this along.

As it happens, I am indeed willing to withdraw this particular request, albeit because the information I am requesting is no longer pertinent to my work due to more than 3 years of delay. However, the "still interested" letter is a tool that can be easily misused, and I did not want to pass up the opportunity to help DHS OIG correct its course.

Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave