OSC investigative findings, recommendations, and reports to Congress re: FOIA violations
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
AP-2022-012 2022-031 |
| Submitted | Feb. 4, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
-All findings and recommendations sent to agencies pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(F)(i), which requires as follows: "Whenever the court orders the production of any agency records improperly withheld from the complainant and assesses against the United States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs, and the court additionally issues a written finding that the circumstances surrounding the withholding raise questions whether agency personnel acted arbitrarily or capriciously with respect to the withholding, the Special Counsel shall promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against the officer or employee who was primarily responsible for the withholding. The Special Counsel, after investigation and consideration of the evidence submitted, shall submit his findings and recommendations to the administrative authority of the agency concerned and shall send copies of the findings and recommendations to the officer or employee or his representative. The administrative authority shall take the corrective action that the Special Counsel recommends."
-All reports submitted to Congress pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(F)(iii), which requires as follows: "The Special Counsel shall annually submit a report to Congress on the actions taken by the Special Counsel under [5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(F)(i)]."
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,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Office of Special Counsel
[cid:image001.png@01D81C80.B7B05D50]U.S. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, DC 20036-4505
(202) 804-7000
February 7, 2022
Mr. Shawn Musgrave
Muckrock News
Department MR 7807 PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205
Via Email: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Re: Freedom of Information Act and/or Privacy Act Request (#FOIA-2022-031)
Dear Mr. Musgrave:
This letter acknowledges that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s (OSC) Office of the Clerk received your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and/or Privacy Act request on February 7, 2022. We understand your request to be "All findings and recommendations sent to agencies pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(F)(i), which requires as follows.., All reports submitted to Congress pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(F)(iii), which requires as follows: The Special Counsel shall annually submit a report to Congress on the actions taken by the Special Counsel under 5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(F)(i).” Your request has been assigned tracking number FOIA-2022-031. Please refer to this tracking number in future communications with OSC regarding this request.
OSC categorizes its FOIA requests in two tracks, “simple” and “complex.” We then generally process the requests in the order in which they were received within each category. After an initial review, we have placed your request in the complex track.
Please note that your FOIA request presents “unusual circumstances” as described in the FOIA because the records you requested require consultation with other components within OSC or with another federal agency and it will take time to consult with them.
Such unusual circumstances allow agencies to extend the time needed to complete the processing of a request beyond 20 working days. You may wish to consider narrowing the scope of your request to limit the number of potentially responsive items or to arrange for an alternative time frame for processing your request.
If you have any questions, would otherwise like to discuss your request, or you require dispute resolution services, please feel free to contact Mahala Dar, OSC’s Chief FOIA Officer and acting FOIA Public Liaison, at FOIArequest@osc.gov<mailto:FOIArequest@osc.gov> or at (202) 804-7000. Please reference the above-noted tracking number if you call or write. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer.
Thank you,
/s/
FOIA Team
Office of the Clerk
________________________________
You can reach OGIS by mail at Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2510, College Park, MD, 20740-6001; by email at ogis@nara.gov<mailto:ogis@nara.gov>; by fax at 202-741-5769; or by telephone at 202-741-5770 or toll-free at 1-877-684-6448.
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From: Office of Special Counsel
Greetings Mr. Musgrave,
I hope this email finds you well. I would like to first apologize for the delay in processing your FOIA request. We are in receipt of your request and you should have received an acknowledgement letter on 2/8/22 with the details. I'm following up with you regarding more detailed information about what specific information you are seeking. When you stated "all findings and recommendations sent to agencies pursuant to 5 U.S.C 552... Whenever the court orders the production of any agency records improperly withheld from the complainant and assesses against the US reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs..., please clarify. Are you referring to a specific policy or statute we would follow to provide the court agency records? Please provide a specific report or document, and date range to search for the records you believe would be in our possession.
Also, when you state "All reports submitted to Congress pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552... The Special Counsel shall annually submit a report to Congress on actions taken..., please clarify. Are you referring to a specific Agency Report? Please provide the name of the report or document you believe we have in our possession. Additionally, please provide a date range to search our records.
You also may search our website at www.osc.gov<http://www.osc.gov> for any reports or documents. Please let us know if what you find is sufficient. Otherwise, please let us know if you have any additional questions. We would appreciate a response to this email by 3/7/22.
Kindest regards,
C. Lawson
OSC FOIA Team
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~WRD1354
From: Shawn Musgrave
Hello,
Thank for your responding and acknowledging the delay. For both categories, please search for documents submitted since January 1, 2016. I believe this requirement was enacted in amendments to the FOIA in 2016.
Otherwise, I believe my FOIA request provides all the details possible for both categories of document, i.e., the details provided by the statute itself. I do not believe any further details about either category of document have been made public since these reporting requirements were enacted by statute. If I had such details, I would provide them, but I do not.
As such, please search for responsive documents to the extent required by the FOIA.
Best,
Shawn
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 4, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Office of Special Counsel
Dear Mr. Musgrave:
Please see the attached final determination letter for FOIA Request FOIA-2022-031.
Feel free to contact me with any questions and/or concerns.
Thank you,
Mahala
-------
Mahala Dar, Esq.
Clerk
Office of the Clerk
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, DC 20036-4505
☎: (202) 804-7000
✉: mdar@osc.gov<mailto:mdar@osc.gov>
[Twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/US_OSC>[cid:image002.png@01D6D90E.B4348A40]<https://osc.gov/>
NOTICE: This message and any attachments may contain information that is sensitive, confidential, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify the sender and delete this email from your system; you should not copy, use, or disclose its contents. Thank you for your cooperation.
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby appeal the agency's response to my request on grounds that the agency failed to conduct an adequate search.
The agency indicated it was unable to locate any records responsive to this request. However, the cited provisions of the FOIA statute (5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4)(F)) requiring the OSC to produce the requested reports have seemingly been in place for decades. It is difficult to accept that there has not been a single such report submitted to Congress or the Attorney General in the intervening years.
As such, I ask that this request be remanded to the OSC FOIA office for good faith search for responsive documents.
Best,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Office of Special Counsel
[cid:image001.png@01D8CC50.8C0EA690]
U.S. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, DC 20036-4505
(202) 804-7000
September 19, 2022
Mr. Shawn Musgrave
Muckrock News
Department MR 7807 PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205
Via : requests@muckrock.com
Re: Freedom of Information Act and/or Privacy Act Appeal (#AP-2022-012)
Dear Mr. Musgrave:
This letter acknowledges that the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) received your administrative appeal from OSC's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and/or Privacy Act response on September 19, 2022. The Office of General Counsel has the responsibility for adjudicating such appeals. OSC generally processes appeals in the order in which they were received.
Additional information about OSC's FOIA policies can be found on line at www.osc.gov. For further information regarding the status of your appeal, you may contact foiaappeal@osc.gov<mailto:foiaappeal@osc.gov>.
With kind regards,
/s/
Office of General Counsel
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
[cid:image002.png@01D8CC50.8C0EA690]<https://osc.gov/>[Twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/US_OSC>
NOTICE: This message and any attachments may contain information that is sensitive, confidential, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify the sender and delete this email from your system; you should not copy, use, or disclose its contents. Thank you for your cooperation.
From: Office of Special Counsel
Good Morning Mr. Musgrave,
Please be advised that your appeal request was received after the 90 day deadline. Your closure letter was dated April 15, 2022.
At this time you may re-submit a FOIA request at foiarequest@osc.gov<mailto:foiarequest@osc.gov> and we will re-run a search.
Please note that your appeal request has been administratively closed.
Kind regards,
Jennifer Wheeler
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
Office of the Clerk
FOIA Team
[cid:image002.png@01D8CCD1.DAD47EE0]<https://osc.gov/>[Twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/US_OSC>
NOTICE: This message and any attachments may contain information that is sensitive, confidential, or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify the sender and delete this email from your system; you should not copy, use, or disclose its contents. Thank you for your cooperation.
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