Records Pertaining to BARNES, William Joint Base MDL
| Tracking # |
2023-00403-F |
| Submitted | Oct. 10, 2022 |
| Due | Jan. 18, 2023 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Mark Bjork
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
For the time period of January 1, 2022 to present:
(1) Copies of all complaints submitted to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations related to Air Force Civilian employee William Barnes who is employed by the Air Force at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey in the civilian personnel office.
(2) Copies of any Report of Investigation for any cases identified in response to request number one above; and
(3) Copies of any email correspondence to or from any AFOSI employee pertaining to any cases identified in response to request number one.
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,
Mark Bjork
From: Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Dear Mark Bjork,
Your request has been received by the Air Force FOIA Requester Service Center. The request has been assigned tracking # 2023-00403-F, please log into your account and review your submission.
The application address is https://efoia.cce.af.mil/.
Thank you,
Air Force FOIA Requester Service Center
From: Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Dear Mark Bjork,
The status of your FOIA request #2023-00403-F has been updated to the following status 'Received'. To log into the PAL Application click on the Application URL below.
Sincerely,
Air Force FOIA Requester Service Center
From: Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Good morning.
We opened a FOIA request for you. Your FOIA number is 2023-00403-F.
To ensure fairness to all families, we are required to process all FOIA
requests on a "first in, first out" basis, in accordance with Federal Law,
DoD and Air Force Instructions. Many of these requests involve the loss of
loved ones, sexual assaults and other sensitive matters. Requests could take
6 months or substantially longer to complete based upon the number and
complexity of the cases in our FOIA queue.
If you need to contact us about your request, please reference 2023-00403-F.
You may also contact us via email at afosi_hq_foia_request@us.af.mil
<mailto:afosi_hq_foia_request@us.af.mil> .
You may also contact the Air Force FOIA Public Liaison Officer, Ms. Adriane
Paris, concerning this final response at AF FOIA Public Liaison Office
(SAF/CN), 1800 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1800,
DAF.FOIA@us.af.mil <mailto:DAF.FOIA@us.af.mil> or (703) 614-8500.
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. The contact information for OGIS is
as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and
Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road‐ OGIS, College Park, Maryland
20740‐6001, e‐mail at ogis@nara.gov <mailto:ogis@nara.gov> ; telephone at
202‐741‐5770; toll free at 1‐877‐684‐ 6448; or facsimile at 202‐741‐
5769.
Thank you!
v/r
Roxanne M. Jensen, GS-13
Chief, Information Release Branch
HQ OSI/FSS/MSII (formerly HQ OSI/XILI)
-
~WRD2243
From: Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Good Afternoon,
Please see the attached response to your FOIA request.
Michele Roby
Information Release Specialist
HQ/FSS/MSII (formerly HQ OSI/XILI)
Michele.roby@us.af.mil
From: Mark Bjork
Dear Sir/Madam,
This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act. My request was assigned the following identification number: 2023-00403-F. On October 31, 2022, I received a response to my request in a letter signed by Roxanne Jensen, Chief, Information Release Branch. I appeal the denial of my request.
The Air Force Office of Special Investigation has not performed a search of responsive records and has denied my Freedom of Information Act request solely on its claim that I failed to provide the AFOSI with a signed perjury clause or third party release and could not verify my identity. The Freedom of Information Act does not require a requester to sign a perjury clause nor verification of identity. The Supreme Court has observed that a FOIA requester's identity "has no bearing on the merits of his or her FOIA request. See DOJ v. Deps. Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749, 771 (1989); see also NARA v. Favish, 541 U.S. 170 (2004) *"As a general rule, withholding information under FOIA cannot be predicated on the identity of the requester."); Lynch v. Dep't of the Treasury, No. 98-56368, 200 WL 123236 , at *4 (9th Cir. Jan. 28, 2000) (upholding district's court decision to not consider the identity of requester in determining whether records were properly withheld under exemption 7).
Therefore, the AFOSI has improperly denied my FOIA on the basis of my failure to provide verification of my identity.
In further addressing the processing of FOIA complaint as it pertains exemption (b)(6) and b(7)(C), the records are being sought involve a federal public servant and the Agency must conduct a balancing test determination to determine the public interest in public servant accountability. The records being sought are only regarding issues involving Mr. Barnes' official duties. Public oversight of government operation under the Freedom of Information Act, one of the purposes of which is to "check against corruption and to hold the governors accountable to the governed." See NLRB v. Robbins Tire & Rubber Co., 437 U.S. 214, 242 (1978). Disclosure of information that informs the public of violations of the public trust has been found to serve a strong public interest and is accorded great weight in the balancing process. See Bartko v. DOJ, 898 F.3d 51, 70 (D.C. Cir. 2018) (finding categorial denial access to disciplinary records inappropriate following public referral of supervisory AUSA to OPR because "[t]he public has an interest in knowing that a government investigation itself is comprehensive, the report of an investigation, the report of investigation is accurate, and any disciplinary measures imposed are adequate, and that those who are accountable are dealt with in an appropriate manner) (quoting Stern v. FBI, 737 F.2d 84, 92-94 (D.C. Cir. 1984))(Exemption 7(C)); Cochran v. United States, 770 F.2d 949, 956 (11th Cir. 1985) (The balance struct under FOIA exemption 6 overwhelming favors the disclosure of information relating to a violation of the public trust by a government official).
I request that the AFOSI process this request accordingly and release any withheld documents notwithstanding any claim of exemption as the public interest in their release outweighs the public interest in withholding them.
Sincerely,
Mark Bjork
From: Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Dear Mr. Bjork, This is in response to your 10 Oct 22 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request received on 14 Oct 22 and assigned case number 2023-00163-F, which seeks the following:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I hereby request the following records from the Department of the Air Force Inspector General: For the time period of January 1, 2022 to present: (1) Copies of all complaints submitted to the Air Force Inspector General hotline regarding Air Force civilian employee employed at the civil personnel office at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ;
(2) Copies of any Report of Investigation for any cases/complaints identified in response to request number one above
(3) Copies of any email correspondence to or from any DAF Inspector General employee pertaining to any cases/complaints identified in response to request number one.
A thorough search was conducted by AMC/IGQ, they reviewed 156 cases within the Automated Case Tracking System (ACTS) database opened by the IGQ office at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for the time period. The search conducted did not locate any responsive records to your request. Based on the results of the search, we must provide a “No Records” response.
If you disagree and interpret this response as an adverse action, you may write to the Secretary of the Air Force, Thru: AFIMSC/IZCI, 2261 Hughes Ave, Ste133, JBSA Lackland, TX 78236 within 90 calendar days from the date of this letter. Include in the appeal your reasons for reconsideration, and attach a copy of this letter. You may also submit your appeal on line at the Air Force’s Public Access Link: https://efoia.cce.af.mil/. You may contact the Air Force FOIA Public Liaison Officer, Mr. William Alexander Jr., concerning this final response at Air Force FOIA Public Liaison Office, 1800 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1800 or DAF.FOIA@us.af.mil or (703) 614-8500. You may also seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services, and can find information on this Office at https://www.archives.gov/ogis/mediation-program/request-assistance. Using the dispute resolution services, will not affect your appeal rights. The FOIA provides for the collection of fees based on the costs of processing a FOIA request and your fee category. In this case, we assessed no fees for processing this request. Direct questions to afimsc.foia.workflow@us.af.mil and reference the above FOIA case number.
Sincerely,
//signed// DAWN M. HOBECK, Civ, DAF Government Information Specialist
From: Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Dear Mark Bjork,
Once you login, please change your password to protect your account details. Passwords expire every 60 days.
Password: 66NDmg)&I16rzX8
Regards,
Air Force FOIA Requester Service Center
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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 Oct. 10, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2023-00403-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
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