Records concerning President-Elect Joe Biden, the transition of power, and ascertainment

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* Tracking Number: GSA-2021-000357
* Requester Name: Nate Jones
* Date Submitted: 12/06/2020
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

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

Copies of any and all written records or communications sent to or from Administrator Emily W. Murphy between November 7, 2020 and the date that the General Services Administration (GSA) formally recognizes former Vice President and current President-Elect Joseph R. "Joe" Biden as the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election (inclusive of those two dates) which contain any of the following words or phrases (case-insensitive):

-"Biden"

-"Harris"

-"ascertainment"

-"election"

-"transition"

-"President-Elect"

I ask that all fees for this FOIA request be waived because it is in the public interest to know what is preventing the GSA from helping to provide for a peaceful transition of power after the incumbent president's defeat in the 2020 presidential election. A peaceful transition of power is important to any healthy democracy, and the absence of a peaceful transition is a sign that the rule of law is deteriorating in a country.

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,

Nate Jones

Your request for Fee Waiver for the FOIA request GSA-2021-000357 has been
determined to be not applicable as the request is not billable.
Additional details for this request are as follows:

* Request Created on:
12/06/2020
* Request Description:
To Whom It May Concern:

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

Copies of any and all written records or communications sent to or from Administrator Emily W. Murphy between November 7, 2020 and the date that the General Services Administration (GSA) formally recognizes former Vice President and current President-Elect Joseph R. "Joe" Biden as the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election (inclusive of those two dates) which contain any of the following words or phrases (case-insensitive):

-"Biden"

-"Harris"

-"ascertainment"

-"election"

-"transition"

-"President-Elect"

I ask that all fees for this FOIA request be waived because it is in the public interest to know what is preventing the GSA from helping to provide for a peaceful transition of power after the incumbent president's defeat in the 2020 presidential election. A peaceful transition of power is important to any healthy democracy, and the absence of a peaceful transition is a sign that the rule of law is deteriorating in a country.

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,

Nate Jones
* Fee Waiver Original Justification:
I ask that all fees for this FOIA request be waived because it is in the public interest to know what is preventing the GSA from helping to provide for a peaceful transition of power after the incumbent president's defeat in the 2020 presidential election. A peaceful transition of power is important to any healthy democracy, and the absence of a peaceful transition is a sign that the rule of law is deteriorating in a country.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
* Fee Waiver Disposition Reason:
N/A

Dear Nate Jones:
We received your request in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office and assigned control GSA-2021-000357. Please refer to this number in all future correspondence concerning this request. Based on this, we anticipate response on or prior to January 21, 2021.
We have twenty (20) workdays in which to respond (excluding weekends and Federal Holidays).   However, it may not always be possible to provide the documents within this time period. In some cases, we may take an extension and will advise you. Please be advised that your request may be subject to fees for search, review and reproduction costs. Should this be the case, you will be given an estimate of the costs. All estimates are developed in Good Faith and are based on our reasonable judgment. However, due to the unique nature of each request and complexity of documents involved, actual costs to search and review the material may vary. You will be notified of fees, time frames and any other issues prior to and throughout the process.
Additionally, please be advised that at any time, you can log into the FOIAonline, to access your original request and review the workflow associated with this-tracking number.   Should you have any further questions, feel free to contact this office at our Toll Free Number 1-855-675-FOIA or by email at gsa.foia@gsa.gov to inquire about the status of your request. If you have any concerns regarding the FOIA Requester Service Center, please contact Mr. Duane Smith, GSA’s FOIA Public Liaison at (202) 694-2934 or by email at (mailto:gsa.foia@gsa.gov) duane.smith@gsa.gov. (mailto:duane.smith@gsa.gov)
Respectfully,
Freedom of Information Act Requester Service Center
U.S General Service Administration
1800 F Street, Northwest, Room 7300
Washington, DC 20405
Toll Free number: (855)-675- FOIA
Fax number: (202) 501-2727

Good morning Mr. Jones,

Please see GSA's FOIA request response for GSA FOIA request numbered
GSA-2021-000357.

U.S. General Services Administration

Travis Lewis

FOIA Program Manager

Office of General Counsel

General Services Administration

202-219-3078