Progress and Freedom Foundation

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Materials relating to the review and audit, including but not limited to memos, letters, talking points and determinations made by the agency, of the Progress and Freedom Foundation in the late 1990s. The matter has been extensively covered by the press and investigated by Congress, and pertains to a nonprofit organization. As such, privacy exemptions do not apply. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/04/us/irs-clears-foundation-linked-to-gingrich-s-ethics-dispute.html

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,

Michael Best

I am appealing the rejection of my request as improper. Corporations, unlike people, explicitly do not have an expectation of privacy under FOIA. This has been affirmed in repeated cases, including by the Supreme Court. FCC v. AT&T, Inc., No. 09-1279, 2011 WL 691243 (U.S. Mar. 1, 2011) Additionally, even arguendo, my request was in no way limited to such materials. FOIA statute and caselaw requires agencies to fulfill requests to the best of their ability and does not allow them to disregard some portions of a FOIA request because other portions MAY be problematic (but are not in this case).