NARA/FBI FPOTUS records referenced in S.D. Florida case No. 9:22-mj-08332 (EXPEDITED) (National Archives and Records Administration)

Dear FBI & NARA,

This letter is a formal Freedom of Information Act request for the following records.

Because these records are of extreme public interest, and concern ongoing news stories and may affect imminently impending Federal elections, I request that this request be treated as public interest (for fee waiver) and expedited (for speed). I believe that the public interest and justification for expedition are incontrovertibly obvious, so I will not waste your time in elaborating on this. However, if you are inclined to deny either, please let me know your reasons immediately, and I will address this in more detail.

A. FPOTUS records referenced in S.D. Florida case No. 9:22-mj-8332 (the "case")

1. Records requested

a. I request all records obtained by warrant, enumerated in the full version of ECF 17 in this case (unsealed, redacted warrant and unsealed, redacted receipt for property).
b. I request all records obtained by any other means and mentioned in the full version of ECF 202-1 in this case (unsealed, redacted affidavit in support of warrant).
c. I request all other records directly referenced in any Government or FPOTUS filing in this case.
d. For all paper records responsive to the above, for which the Government has possession or control of its original electronic record (e.g. a Word doc that was printed), in addition to the paper record (as PDF scan, see template below), I request the original electronic record in original electronic format.

For all records requested, as part of the record, I also request all record metadata.

See below for important definitions, exclusions, form & format requirements, etc.

2. Background

This case concerns the NARA, FBI, and DOJ investigation of former president Donald Trump ("FPOTUS") on various charges, as stated in that case. Broadly summarized, they relate primarily to improper removal, storage, or failure to return records that
a. come under the Presidential Records Act and/or
b. are or were classified information of various levels (Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, and Top Secret / Secure Compartmentalized Information) and (for some of the TS records) various control codes (such as Special Intelligence / SI, HUMINT Control System / HCS, NOFORN, FISA, and ORCON).

FPOTUS is widely reported to have alleged or implied that some records that the Government has treated as classified in this case were in fact declassified by him while he was president. See also ECF 102-1 p. 34–36 (exhibit 1, FPOTUS counsel letter alluding to POTUS declassification authority).

The fact that any records were obtained from FPOTUS in this manner, the manner in which they were stored by FPOTUS, and the nature & volume of each record at issue — e.g. the requested metadata of each record, as described below — is itself of extreme public interest.

3. Clarifications and caveats

a. "FPOTUS" includes any entity that he controls (e.g. his various organizations, including Mar-a-lago's owning/operating entities), and anyone acting on his behalf (or purporting to do so) in any formal interaction with the Government or Judiciary (e.g. his lawyers corresponding with NARA & DOJ about the "15 boxes" previously produced, this case, privilege review, etc).

b. "Government" includes the DOJ, FBI, & NARA. It does not include the Judiciary.

c. "Filing" includes both public and sealed filings, and any attachments (e.g. affidavits, warrants, receipts, etc), in this case (9:22-mj-08332).
"Filing" and "filed" include any records entered or issued by the court, judge, or clerk (even if this isn't normally called a "filing" under FRCrP / FRCvP).

d. "Full version", with regard to a filing, means an unredacted version. For example, ECF 17 p. 1 indicates that it (unsealed version of search warrant and receipt for records) is a redacted version of two previous filings (which are the "full version"):
1. search warrant (other than affidavit), including attachments A & B, filed Aug. 5, 2022
2. receipt for property, filed Aug. 11, 2022.

e. "Records" requested exclude records which are both
1. referenced in a public filing, or in the public (i.e. non-redacted) portion of a partially unsealed filing, in this case; AND
2. publicly available in full on PACER (i.e. not sealed or redacted).

f. "Pincite" means an exact reference to a specific part of a filing in this case. For example, 9:22-mj-08332 ECF 17 p. 5 line label 30 is a pincite reference to "Box labelled A-26" in the warrant's receipt for property (unsealed version).
1. If the referenced record is sealed, "pincite" does not include the content of the referent ("Box labelled A-26" in the example above), but does include the exact reference ("9:22-mj-08332 ECF 17 p. 5 line label 30" in the example above). The pincite should use the most specific reference possible that does not disclose sealed information; I expect that this should always permit at least the ECF # / filing date, page #, section/sub-section outline identifier (e.g. "(b)(1)(A)", "III.c", "5" or the like, based on how the filing is internally outlined), paragraph # within the sub-section or page, and line # within the paragraph or page.
2. If the referenced record is public or unsealed, "pincite" includes both the exact reference and the content of the referent (as defined above)
3. If the record is referred to in multiple filings (as is true for both ECF 17 & 202-1), or multiple places in a filing, "pincite" includes every such reference, even if in a sealed record.
4. "Pincite" does not include conclusions of law. For example, I do not request that you identify which paragraph in ECF 17 p. 4 applies to reach record. However, "pincite" does include bulk references, such as incision within a reference to multiple records by box ID, location seized, classification, etc.

g. "Metadata" includes
1. individual identifiers extrinsic to this case that identify, describe, are embedded in, or are the context of the record (e.g. number of pages, format, title, author, Bates numbers [if any], document control number, creation/origination date, revision number & date, all electronic metadata [if the record is electronic], identification and labels of any container in which the record was stored by FPOTUS [e.g. building, room, shelf, safe, box, folder, tab, stapled / paperclipped collection, sticky notes, etc], etc., as applicable), to the extent that the Government has current possession or control of any such metadata
2. pincites for the exact location(s) where the record is referenced in this case, regardless of seal status
3. lowest classification level of any non-substantive part of the record (e.g. page numbers, outline identifiers, template document headers, watermark, etc)
4. lowest classification level of any substantive part of the record (e.g. body text, footnotes, section headers, etc)
5. highest classification level of any part of the record
6. size and shape of exempt or classified parts of the record (i.e. the result of a narrow text / image blackout redaction)
7. classification labels (e.g. per paragraph, section, etc)
8. for any record that is labelled as classified, any record currently in the Government's possession or control that indicates FPOTUS' position on whether the subject record was declassified
9. for any record that the Government or FPOTUS considers privileged or possibly privileged, any record that indicates or alleges this status and is currently in the Government's possession or control
10. for any record that is currently subject to seal by court order (including any sealed orders of seal), the full citation of the case and order
11. any index, table of contents, or other finding aid associated with the record and currently in the Government's possession or control

4. Classified records

I understand that a large proportion — but not all — of the records requested are alleged by the Government to be classified. I also understand that there exists a current dispute between FPOTUS and the Government as to whether some of the documents are classified, because FPOTUS alleges that he declassified them while in office.

I do not wish to dispute classification status at this time, nor to get involved in the dispute between FPOTUS and the Government.

I therefore request that records be considered responsive regardless of their classification status, and that if a record is considered classified by the Government, it be provided in a form and format, and with non-exempt metadata, that:
a. discloses all unclassified records;
b. discloses all reasonably segregable non-classified portions of all allegedly classified records;
c. indicates the classification levels at issue (e.g. as is normally indicated in classification or control codes in the segregably redactable, non-exempt cover/folder, control page, header, margins, text boxes, and/or paragraph prefixes of classified records); and
d. any FPOTUS dispute of the record's classification level (e.g. as indicated in correspondence from FPOTUS' lawyers, FPOTUS' court filings, or FPOTUS' public statements compiled by the Government)

This request would be fulfilled by providing all metadata stated above, and all non-exempt segregable portions of responsive records.

For example, metadata item 6 would be fulfilled by redacting records in the most narrow possible way. Records comprised of entirely blacked out substantive text, like ECF 102-1 pages 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, & 27, still disclose requested metadata. Records comprised of almost entirely blacked out substantive text but disclosing even partial information, like ECF 102-1 pages 11, 13, 14, & 26, disclose both requested metadata and segregable portions of the record. Despite their limitations, these are valuable to the public interest, and therefore requested.

If you determine that the metadata is itself classified or otherwise exempt (e.g. a TS/SCI codeword that is itself classified, or a citation to a totally sealed case if the case identifier is itself sealed or classified), please provide all segregable non-exempt portions, and indicate specifically what metadata about what record you are withholding with respect to which released record(s) or portions thereof (e.g. by filename and page number), so that I know specifically which metadata exists but is withheld.

If you believe that the existence of some entire class of metadata or record is itself classified or otherwise exempt (i.e. Glomar), please be specific as to what class of information, as to what class of record, you are refusing to confirm or deny.

5. MDR

In the interest of expedition, and in order to not become involved with pending disputes between FPOTUS and the Government, I specifically override and do not request the MDR that is part of my standard request template below.

6. Prioritization

In order to respond in a most expedited manner possible, please prioritize, in order:
a. records already scanned or electronically available
b. records not labelled as classified
c. records requiring the least time and effort to produce
d. in the order listed in paragraph 1 above

Please produce all records on a daily rolling basis — i.e. on each day that any record is ready to release, release it that day, even if other records (or the accompanying cover / withholding letter) are not yet ready.

In order to expedite rolling production, you are welcome to delay providing the cover / withholding claims letter normally included in each production, provided that the letter is provided within 2 weeks (e.g. so as to cover the last 2 weeks' productions as a batch in one letter).

7. Form and format

Please provide all records in a form and format that gives a unique filename to each distinct record, reflecting the metadata in a reasonably organized fashion, and that the records as produced match the page order (etc) of the original record — so that your cover letters, pincites, withholding claims, etc can be readily understood; the record form and format itself makes clear e.g. what constitutes a distinct record; and the record is comprehensible both internally and with respect to its original context.

Please provide all records in electronic, maximally accessible format, as described below. I understand that most of the responsive records are in paper; for such records, please provide PDF scans as described below. If a responsive record is in electronic format, please provide it in the original electronic format (i.e. as currently stored). If a responsive record is in paper, but the Government also has possession or control of its electronic original, please provide both (as requested in paragraph 1(d)), with each in the corresponding format.

See below for more specific details.

Thank you for your assistance in making records of such extreme public interest promptly and maximally available.

###
Fiat Fiendum FOIA template
Version 5.1
###

# Changelog

5.1: Updated 508 provisions to refer to Access Board's final rule, 82 FR 5790, and reference https://www.access-board.gov/ict/ & https://section508.gov .

# FOIA template structure

All content after the version number line above, except for the contact details at the very end, is part of my standard FOIA request template and identical between all of my FOIA requests. The provisions below are generally applicable to all FOIA / Privacy Act requests that I make.

There is one exception: the contact details below my signature at the very bottom (provided by MuckRock) are different for each request. Please use the distinct contact details matching each request, to ensure that your responses are correctly tracked.

The template provisions specify e.g. additional requests relating to my FOIA/PA requests themselves, form and format, timing, redaction & review, rolling updates, § 508 compliance, identity, fee waiver, my identity, and the like. They apply to this request, but are not specific to it.

If anything in the request-specific section above explicitly overrides anything in this template section, the request-specific section controls. If there is any ambiguity about such an override, please ask me for clarification.

The version number above is provided to make it easier for you to process my requests. Since all content (except contact info) below identical version number lines is identical between my requests, you need track only the request-specific portions (at the top) and the latest version of my general provisions.

Please read each new version carefully, as updates generally contain substantive changes.

## Template version updates

If you receive any FOIA request from me with a newer template version number than any pending prior FOIA requests from me, please replace the template portion of all prior requests with the updated version, treat the update as a clarification of and/or extension to the prior request, and process each updated request accordingly. Do not close the original request or change its request date. If you are permitted by law to refuse to honor such an update, and you choose to exercise that refusal, please process any differences between the new version and the prior version as a new FOIA request in its own right.

# Additional FOIA requests

In addition to the records specified in the request-specific section above, I also request:

B. all records relating to the fulfillment of this request, such as FOIA logs, documentation of searches, referral emails, etc.

This part of the request is to be processed only after you have completed processing all of the above parts. This part does not request that you create any new record; rather, it requests the records that you will have created in processing the above parts, and will therefore exist before you conduct the search for this part. See McGehee v. CIA, 697 F. 2d 1095, 1100-05 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (agency must use time-of-search cut-off date, not time-of-request).

C. all records relating to any complaint(s), FOIA request(s)/appeal(s), and/or Privacy Act request(s)/appeal(s) made by me. This includes, but is not limited to:
1. all records relating to the processing my previous requests, complaints, etc;
2. all records containing the terms my name, email address(es), and other contact or identifying information, listed below my signature; and
3. all records containing any of my complaint, request or appeal identifiers.

Parts (B) and (C) must be processed only after you have processed the items above that line, i.e. such that at the time of the search, the records described will have already been created at the time you conduct the search. Part (C) must be processed after part (B) is completed.

Parts (B) and (C) may overlap with similar prior requests. However, the cut-off date is, at earliest, the date that you complete search on all of the above items. If you wish to administratively merge this request with a prior similar request, I consent on condition that you extend the cut-off date for the prior request, and provide rolling updates. Otherwise, you must treat this as a new request.

For all responsive records, I also request:

D.
1. all parts of the record (i.e. no portion of a record with some responsive portion may be considered "non-responsive");
2. all versions of the record, whether or not currently in use;
3. all record metadata, such as dates on which they were drafted, passed, went into effect, withdrawn, or similar events; person(s) / office(s) responsible; authors; IDs; revision numbers; etc.;
4. a detailed index of all claims of exemption/privilege, regardless of whether the record is claimed to be exempt in whole or in part;
access to inspect the record directly, in its native electronic format; and
5. if any classification applies, mandatory declassification review (MDR) under E.O. 13526, and the result of the MDR, including any declassified records.

"All parts of the record" means that the "record" should be considered to be the most comprehensive record with any responsive portion. For instance:
a) if any portion of an email is responsive, the entire contents of all email thread(s) to which that email belongs is also responsive (including attachments);
b) if a record is part of a larger record, such as a responsive table that is in a chapter of a report, then the entire larger record (e.g. the full report) is responsive, together with any appendices, amendments, etc.;
c) if a record is part of a book, the entire book is responsive;
d) if a record is part of a database, all related database records are responsive;
etc.

"Related database records" has the technical meaning used in relational database management systems (such as SQL). It recursively includes all directly and indirectly related records (starting with all responsive records, include as responsive the full row of each, and recursively include as responsive all rows for which any responsive record has a foreign key or is referenced by a foreign key), together with the schema for all responsive records.

Items in part (D) should be prioritized at the same level as the record they apply to.

# Timing

For all requests above, the "cut-off date" is, at the earliest, the date that you conduct the search.

The priority order listed above is only for items that may take extra time to respond to, and must not be taken as blocking response to an otherwise lower priority item that could be released more quickly than a higher priority item that is pending time-intensive search or review.

# FOIA IA notice

Please note that this request is made after the enactment of Public Law No. 114-185, S. 337 (114th), the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 (FOIA IA). The revised statute, as specified in the FOIA IA, applies to this request. FOIA IA § 6.

In particular, please note that:
1. you must provide electronic format documents, §§ 552(a)(2) (undesignated preceding text), 552(a)(2)(E) (undesignated following text), 552(a)(3)(B), and 552(a)(3)(C);
2. you may not specify an appeal duration less than 90 days, § 552(a)(6)(C)(A)(i)(III)(aa);
3. you may not withhold any record unless "the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption described in subsection (b), or disclosure is prohibited by law", § 552(a)(8)(A)(i);
4. you must segregate and partially release records where possible, §§ 552(a)(8)(A)(ii) and 552(b) (undesignated matter following (b)(9)); and
5. you may not claim deliberative process exemption for records more than 25 years old, § 552(b)(5).

# "Record" defined

For the purposes of this request, except as otherwise specified, "record" means any agreement, appendix, application, assessment, attachment, checklist, circular, contract, correspondence (including but not limited to email), data management plan, documentation of search parameters, email, email attachment, form, guide, handbook, index of records, information consent agreement, information sharing agreement, instruction, interpretation, kit, management instruction, manual, memorandum, memorandum of understanding, notice, notification, opinion, order, plan, policy, policy statement, processing note, publication, recording, referral, report, request certification form, request detail report, response, rule, script, standard operating procedure, submission, talking point, training document, video, or related record described, regardless of publication status.

# Anti-duplication exclusion

This request specifically excludes providing me with new copies of any records which have been already provided to me or published online for free (e.g. on the agency's online "reading room"), in full or identically to the form that would be provided to me under this request (i.e. with exactly the same format, redactions, and claimed exemptions).

This is only an exclusion on providing records under this request that are identical to those already provided to me or available online, and only if I am or have already been provided a link to the online version (if "available online").

This exclusion is only intended to limit unnecessary duplication or provision, not to limit what records are responsive to this request, nor to permit failure to disclose the location of a responsive record available online. If this exclusion would in any way increase the cost or duration to respond to this request, it is to be ignored to the extent it does so.

This request is to be treated as separate from all others that I have filed.

# Forwarding; multi-agency / multi-component records

Please forward this request to the FOIA office of every agency component and subcomponent that may have responsive records for independent processing, with a copy to me.

This request includes any records held jointly by your agency in conjunction with any other agency and/or department, in interagency and/or interdepartmental systems of records, or by other agencies or third parties (including contractors) acting pursuant to any agreement with your agency.

# Minimal redaction

Please note that the FOIA requires you to service the maximum extent of my request that can be done via e.g. partial redaction of exempt material. If you believe some portions of a record to be exempt because it contains Sensitive Security Information (SSI, 49 CFR 15 & 1520) or classified information (18 USC 798), please provide a version of the record redacted to the minimum extent necessary to remove exempt information (e.g. per 49 CFR 1520.15), along with adequate information to describe the reason for each specific exemption.

## Redaction of repeatedly occurring content

When redacting any content that appears more than once in the full set of responsive records, please assign a replacement identifier for each, so that your redaction does not obfuscate the commonality.

For example, suppose that responsive records include the names Alice, Bob, Charlie, and Diego, and you determine that each of those names are redactable (e.g. under (b)(7)(C)). Rather than redacting each with only the text "(b)(7)(C)", replace each instance of "Alice" with "(b)(7)(C) - Person 1", each instance of "Bob" with "(b)(7)(C) - Person 2", etc. This e.g. withholds Alice's identity while not withholding the fact of commonality between occurrences.

Please use reasonably descriptive identifiers. For instance, if Elizabeth's name is not redacted but her personal cellphone number is, and that cellphone number appears e.g. both in her email signature and elsewhere by itself, it should in both cases be redacted with the same descriptive identifier, such as "[Alice's cell #]". For documents, this can be specified in the margins. If space or file format does not permit you to do so, then please use a short code (e.g. "[#52]", and provide a table matching codes to full identifiers in your response letter.

If you make any such redactions, please keep but do not provide a table matching codes/identifiers to the redacted content, for use in case your redaction is examined or overturned on appeal or in litigation.

This is a form and format request pertaining to your process of redaction. Because it only applies in situations when you have already exercised the voluntary decision to alter the records from the original form requested, you have necessarily waived any objection to this section "creating a new record", since your act of redaction itself already "makes a new record" in that limited sense. This is only about how you do a redaction you have already decided to make.

This provision limits the scope of your redaction to the minimum possible extent, so that even if you decide to withhold some particular piece of content, you do not also withhold the fact of its being the same as the same content appearing elsewhere. That fact is itself metadata that is explicitly requested as part of this request.

If you decide that the mere fact of two pieces of content being the same is itself withholdable, then please redact it using an identifier that encodes only the reason, and provide a table matching those reason-only identifiers to justifications in your response letter.

# Estimates and rolling updates

In order to help tailor my request, please provide an upfront estimate of the time and cost it will take to complete this request, broken down any significant factors that would affect cost to service, number of records in each category, and your estimate of how many records in the category are likely to be exempt.

Please provide me with incremental updates, with updated estimates for fulfillment of the remainder, rather than having the entirety of the request be blocked until fully completed.

# No new records; electronic & original format

This request does not ask you to create new records.

If you determine that a response would require creating a new record that you do not want to create, please first contact me by email with an explanation of what records you have that would most closely match the information requested and might be acceptable substitutes, so that we can reasonably tailor the request.

In particular, I specifically request that you do not create new documents in response to this request that are modifications of a digital record, such as page-view images, print views, scans, or the like. No such creation or substitution is authorized by FOIA or the Privacy Act.

However, if the same or similar records are held in both electronic and paper formats, this request includes both the paper and electronic versions. The paper version and the digital version are distinct records, and each may contain distinct information such as handwritten or other markings on the paper copy and embedded metadata in the electronic version.

I specifically request both the original, electronic format record, and (if it contains any additional markings) the paper record.

To the extent that the native electronic format is proprietary or otherwise not in format accessible by widely available, open source software, I also request
1. an export of the proprietary format into a standard, open format, as described below, and
2. all proprietary software necessary to use and understand the original, proprietary format records.

# Rehab Act § 508 compliance

In accordance with 5 USC 552(a)(3)(B & C) (E-FOIA), Rehabilitation Act § 508, and FOIA IA, I demand that you respond using original, native format, electronic, machine-processable, accessible, open, and well structured records to the maximum extent possible — for both the content of your response, and any communications about the request (such as response letters).

This means, e.g.:
1. native, original format records rather than PDFs or other conversions (see note above re providing both native electronic records and scans of paper records, if both exist);
2. individual files per distinct source record (e.g. one .msg file per email), named clearly using the record's identifier, title, and date, rather than a single file containing multiple concatenated records;
3. records compliant with the Rehabilitation Act § 508, 36 CFR Part 1194, 82 FR 5790, and I​SO 14289­-1;
4. fully digital text records rather than scans, rasterizations, or OCR;
5. complete electronic records, as held on any computer (including phones, servers, backup servers, mail servers, workstations, etc.), including all headers and attachments, fully expanded e-mail addresses, full addresses for address "aliases", full lists for "distribution list" aliases, all embedded and external metadata, complete bitwise digital copies of the original file, all file headers, and all other file content;
6. blackout rather than whiteout redactions, with every redaction marked with all exemption(s) claimed for that redaction;
7. digital redactions rather than black marker or rasterization;
8. lists and structured data as machine-processable spreadsheets (e.g. CSV, SQL, XSL) rather than word documents (e.g. DOC, PDF, TXT, RTF) or partial printouts (e.g. PDF),
9. open format records (e.g. PDF, AVI, MPG) rather than proprietary format records (e.g. WordPerfect, Microsoft Advanced Systems Format (ASF)) (note above re providing both original, proprietary format records and open format records);
10. scans rather than paper copies;
11. digital audio/video files rather than physical tapes;
12. upload to your Electronic Reading Room (or other publicly accessible server) rather than personal transfer (for all items other than the item requesting records related to me or my requests);
13. email or (S)FTP file transfer rather than CD;
14. email correspondence rather than physical mail; etc.

# Compression, passwords, and uploading large files

Multiple files may be sent in a combined, compressed form using standard ZIP, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, and/or RAR formats, or sent as separate files, at your discretion.

Do not use any password on any files, including ZIP files etc., unless a password was present in the original, native format (in which case, leave it unaltered, and send me the password).

If there are any files you prefer not to transfer by email (e.g. if they are >10MB), please upload them to me via the link listed below my signature. Doing so is secure, completely free to you, and I will be notified of the upload.

# No physical "duplication"; inspection & direct access

Please note that this request does not request that you physically "duplicate" records, as I do not want you to create any paper or other physical copy for me — I only want electronic versions (or scans, for records that are not fully available in electronic form). As such, I expect there to be no duplication related costs.

Furthermore, I specifically request access for inspection of the records, including direct electronic access, in native format, to any electronic records.

# Request tracking numbers and estimated completion date

Upon receipt, and in every followup response, please state your tracking number(s) for this request, as well as your specific estimated completion date. 5 USC 552(a)(7).

# Communication about this request and method for responding

If you have any questions or updates about this request, please contact me by email, using only the MuckRock email address from which this request was sent. Please do not send responses to my personal or organizational email addresses unless I specifically request you to do so.

Please ensure that all of your responses comply with § 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, 36 CFR Part 1194, 82 FR 5790, and I​SO 14289­-1. See https://www.access-board.gov/ict/ & https://section508.gov/ .

In particular, please make all correspondence pursuant to this request — including notification and responsive records — by email, with native electronic format records, as specified in the request. I do not authorize you to send anything to me by physical mail unless I specifically state otherwise.

Do not respond using ZixCorp "Secure Mail" or any other method that "expires" records from being available. Use only actual email and direct attachments, or upload using the link below, unless I explicitly request otherwise.

# "Reasonable description" and tailoring

Please note that a request need only be "reasonably described" in the sense that you understand what is requested and where you can find it. A request is not improper merely because of the amount of responsive records. I will not agree to a limitation premised on this request asking for voluminous records. However, I may agree to a limitation premised on the difficulty of finding particular records or categories thereof, the quality of records available, paper vs electronic format, or similar issues.

If you believe that any of the requested items are not reasonably described, that they would be overly burdensome to fulfill, or that you need any further information, please be specific about what you consider vague.

Please include in any response about "reasonably described", or any request for narrowing, specific questions I can answer that would clarify matters for you; specific descriptions of what parts of the request more or less burdensome (and why) that could serve as the basis for negotiating a narrower request; and any indexes, finding guides, record categories, record storage practices, likely places that responsive records may be located, or similar information that would allow me to understand your concerns and better tailor the request.

# No fees agreed to; non-commercial status; journalistic & public interest waiver

I am not currently willing to pay for servicing this request. I may be willing to pay if it is necessary; please send a detailed explanation of the costs and their statutory justification, and service the maximum extent of the request that can be done for free in the meantime.

This request is a qualified request for journalistic, public interest purposes. As such, I request fully waived fees, including both public interest fee waiver and journalistic fee waiver.

1. Fiat Fiendum, Inc. (FF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, organized for charitable, educational, scientific, and/or literary purposes.

This request is a part of FF's bona fide educational and scientific purpose activities, which are public interest purposes as a matter of law.

2. FF's actions in matters such as this request are non-commercial. My personal interest in the records is also non-commercial.

3. Both Fiat Fiendum as an organization, and I as an individual, are representatives of the news media and entitled to waiver of all search fees.

4. I intend and am able to host and publish all received records online to the general public at no charge, as well to publish highlights, analyses, summaries, commentaries, and other creative, original journalistic and scientific work about responsive records through multiple online publications, as part of Fiat Fiendum's work.

5. The records requested are of significant public interest, entitled to waiver of all duplication fees, since
a. they are requested for 501(c)(3) public interest purposes;
b. as above, I both am able and intend to disseminate the files widely;
c. they would contribute greatly to the public understanding of the operations & activities of your agency, in that they are records that directly describe agency operations & activities, as well as the issues and matters described at the top of this letter;
d. they are not currently readily available; and
e. they are likely to be requested by others.

6. As mentioned above, I am explicitly not asking for any physical duplication, but rather direct server-to-server file transfer or email (or posting on your website). FOIA authorizes "duplication" fees strictly limited to your agency's actual costs, and mandates that your agency use the cheapest available requested methods. I consider the actual costs for server-to-server file transfer to be reasonably estimated by, e.g., Amazon S3's pricing (https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing/).

7. I request that, pending fee waiver determination or appeal, you proceed with this request as if it were in the "other non-commercial requester" category.

# Requester

This request is made on behalf of both myself, Sai (in personal capacity) and Fiat Fiendum, Inc. (in official capacity).

“Sai” is my full legal name.

Please note that I am partially blind. I use screen readers (such as VoiceOver and TalkBack). I also need to process documents using computer code (which requires machine-readable data, including metadata). These facts must be considered as part of the basis for, and right to, the form and format requests detailed above.

Sincerely,
Sai
President, Fiat Fiendum, Inc.
Fiat Fiendum is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation devoted to public interest journalism, government transparency and accountability, individuals' civil rights, and related issues.

Upload link and physical mail address are below. (Again, do not physically mail responsive records without my explicit request; send all responses electronically.)