Records relating to ethics pledge (Social Security Administration)

To Whom It May Concern:

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

To Whom It May Concern:

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

1. Copies of the signed ethics pledges required under the Executive Order issued by President Trump on January 28, 2017 titled “Ethics Commitments By Executive Branch Appointees,” for all political appointees hired since January 20, 2017.

2. Copies of any written waivers relating to the ethics pledge required under the Executive Order issued by President Trump on January 28, 2017 titled “Ethics Commitments By Executive Branch Appointees.” Please provide any waivers signed from January 20, 2017 up and until the date that you provide a response to this request.

The Center for Media and Democracy is entitled to a fee waiver because it is a news media organization, and because this request for records concerns activities or operations of the government. Disclosure of the requested records will likely increase public understanding of government operations since CMD has the ability and the intention, through the means described below, to effectively convey information contained within the requested records to a broad public audience. Founded in 1993, CMD’s investigative research and reporting has appeared in local and national publications such as the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Washington Post. CMD documents key facts in order to reveal the impact of policies on ordinary people, and has received various awards for its investigative reporting. In addition to using the information from this FOIA request to generate news stories, CMD would distribute information obtained and inform the public at large through various online platforms. CMD publishes information and investigative findings on a near daily basis through CMD’s reporting websites, PRWatch and ExposedbyCMD.

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,

Nick Surgey