Records
| Tracking # |
20-05082-F |
| Submitted | Feb. 4, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: George Johnston
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Any and all complaints, or disciplinary action against former VA deputy secretary job James Byrne.
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,
George Johnston
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, 2020. 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: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The request has been forwarded from one agency to another agency or department for further review or follow up.
From: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
March 13, 2020 In Reply Refer To: 001B
FOIA Request: 20-05082-F
George Johnston
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 87334
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Dear Mr. Johnston:
This is the Initial Agency Decision (IAD) from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (OSVA) to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received February 4, 2020, and assigned FOIA tracking number 20-05082-F. You requested: "Any And All complaints, or disciplinary action against former VA deputy secretary job James Byrne."
IAD & Reasonable Searches Dated 2/12/20, 2/18/20, 2/19/20, 2/21/20, & 2/27/20
By February 12, 2020, the OSVA FOIA Officer was already in possession of the emailboxes of Secretary Wilkie and former Deputy Secretary Byrne up to January 30, 2020. On February 12, 2020, the OSVA FOIA Officer requested that the VA OIT office provide all responsive records, if any, within the emailboxes of Secretary Wilkie and former Deputy Secretary Byrne up to February 3, 2020.
On February 18, 2020, the OSVA FOIA Officer searched through the emailboxes of Wilkie and Byrne with the search date timeframe of January 1, 2020, to January 30, 2020. The OSVA FOIA Officer used the following stemmed/wildcarded search terms: 1) "Byrne," within thirty (30) words of, 2) "dismiss" or "perform" or "employ" or "status." This February 18, 2020, search did not yield any responsive records.
On February 19, 2020, the VA OIT office provided search results to the OSVA FOIA Officer. On February 21, 2020, the OSVA FOIA Officer searched through the emailboxes of Wilkie and Byrne with the search date timeframe of January 31, 2020, to February 3, 2020. The OSVA FOIA Officer used the following stemmed/wildcarded search terms: 1) "Byrne," within thirty (30) words of, 2) "dismiss" or "perform" or "employ" or "status." This February 19, 2020, search did not yield any responsive records.
On February 27, 2020, the OSVA FOIA Officer searched through three (3) cardboard boxes containing the paper records of Jim Byrne. The OSVA FOIA Officer looked for any paper records related to his dismissal. This February 27, 2020, search did not yield any responsive records.
Despite the multiple, separate reasonable searches described above, OSVA found no responsive records. Thus, OSVA issues you a "no records" response.
Even if OSVA found responsive records, such would likely be redacted with FOIA Exemptions 2 and 6. 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(2) exempts from disclosure information "related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency." 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6) exempts from disclosure "personnel and medical files and similar files" when the disclosure "would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
FOIA Mediation
As part of the 2007 FOIA amendments, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) was created to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue litigation. Under the provisions of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, the following contact information is provided to assist FOIA requesters in resolving disputes:
VA Central Office FOIA Public Liaison:
Name: Doloras Johnson
Email Address: vacofoiaservice@va.gov<mailto:vacofoiaservice@va.gov>
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
Email Address: ogis@nara.gov<mailto:ogis@nara.gov>
Fax: 202-741-5769
Mailing address:
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
FOIA Appeal
This concludes OSVA's IAD to FOIA request 20-05082-F. Please be advised that should you desire to do so, you may appeal the determination made in this response to:
Office of General Counsel (024)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
If you should choose to file an appeal, please include a copy of this letter with your written appeal and clearly indicate the basis for your disagreement with the determination set forth in this response. Please be advised that in accordance with VA's implementing FOIA regulations at 38 C.F.R. § 1.559, your appeal must be postmarked no later than ninety (90) days of the date
of this letter.
Sincerely,
Richard Ha, JD, CIPP/G
OSVA FOIA Officer
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