Operation Frostbyte (Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General)

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=DODOIG-2020-000027&type=request)

* Tracking Number: DODOIG-2020-000027
* Requester Name: Emma Best
* Date Submitted: 10/09/2019
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

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

Records mentioning Operation Frostbyte, see attached for a previous official acknowledgment.

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/EmmaBest/76088/Fee20category20and20search20parameters.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/76088/FROSTBYTE.pdf
Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/

Your request for Fee Waiver for the FOIA request DODOIG-2020-000027 has been fully granted.

* Fee Waiver Original Justification:
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,
Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. 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 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.
Further, 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.
I request that fees be waived.
* Fee Waiver Disposition Reason:
N/A

Dear Ms. Best,

Attached please find our acknowledgement letter pertaining to your FOIA request.

v/r

ERIC R. POWERS
Government Information Specialist
Department of Defense Office of Inspector General Freedom of Information Act
4800 Mark Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22350-1500

This e-mail is from the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense, and may contain information that is "Law Enforcement Sensitive" {LES} or "For Official Use Only" {FOUO} or otherwise subject to the Privacy Act and/or legal and or other privileges that restrict release without appropriate legal authority.

Good Afternoon Ms. Best,

I am the Action Officer assigned to your case. I saw that you requested for a status update. Your request is currently under review and I would get it an Estimated Completion date of 2/21/20, this is just an estimate so your request could be completed before that date or may take longer. I will keep you posted if more time is required.

V/R,

Bethlehem Addis

This e-mail is from the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense, and may contain information that is "Law Enforcement Sensitive" {LES} or "For Official Use Only" {FOUO} or otherwise subject to the Privacy Act and/or legal and or other privileges that restrict release without appropriate legal authority.

Good Afternoon,

Attached is the final response package for your FOIA request.

If you have any questions relating to this matter my contact information can be found on the final response memo or you may wish to contact our agency's FOIA Requester Service Center listed below.

FOIA Requester Service Center
Office of the Inspector General
Department of Defense

P: (703) 604-8757
F: (571) 372-7498
E: foiarequests@dodig.mil

This e-mail is from the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense, and may contain information that is "Law Enforcement Sensitive" {LES} or "For Official Use Only" {FOUO} or otherwise subject to the Privacy Act and/or legal and or other privileges that restrict release without appropriate legal authority.