NSA FOIA processing/"neither confirm or deny"

To Whom It May Concern:

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

All records which help a person who processes FOIA requests for the NSA determine if they should respond by neither confirming or denying the existence of the responsive records.

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 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jason Smathers
Filed via MuckRock.com
185 Beacon St. #3
Somerville, MA 02143

Daytime: (857) 488- 3081
E-mail: requests@muckrock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

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 Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

Thank you for your help.

Mr. Smathers,

The status of your request is essentially the same as the update I provided you on 5 Mar 2013 (below). We appreciate your patience as we work our FOIA cases in the order in which they were received, in accordance with established regulations. Please feel free to check back with us in about six months or so.

Cindy B.
POC, FOIA Requester Service Center
National Security Agency
(301) 688-6527

Thank you for your response. I would like to get an estimated date of completion. Please let me know the estimated date that this request will be completed.

Best Regards,
Jason Smathers

Mr. Smathers,

We have received the fax via MuckRock regarding the status request of your FOIA Case #63168, wherein you state, “I would like to get an estimated date of completion.” Allow me to explain a bit more about our review process.

All cases must go through two levels of review before a release determination is made. As we have summarized below, the NSA/CSS processes cases on a first-in, first-out basis, which is based on the original date of the request. The NSA/CSS frequently receives referrals and consultations from other agencies that often pre-date the cases in our review queue. Other agencies, with similar backlogs, may have a case for a year or more before determining that they need to consult or refer their case to the NSA. When this happens, Department of Justice mandate requires this Agency to place a referral/consultation ahead of others. Therefore our backlog queue has a tendency to fluctuate over time with regard to where each FOIA case stands. This is also why it is difficult to provide an estimated response date as it could change.

I was able to determine that your Case 63168 is pending assignment for 2nd level of review, but there are a number of cases ahead of yours. We estimate another 6-8 months before we are able to adjudicate the release determination. I appreciate your patience as we continue work our backlog. Feel free to check back to see if your case has moved or been assigned.


Cindy Blacker
NSA/CSS FOIA Officer. POC
(301)688-6527

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

Thank you for your help.

Mr. Smathers,

Regarding your status request sent via fax on 19 May 2013 - unfortunately there has been no change in status since the previous update I provided on 19 April 2013

NSA/CSS FOIA Requester Service Center Officer. POC
(301)688-6527

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

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 Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

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 Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

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 Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

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 Oct. 6, 2010. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #63168.

Thank you for your help.