Request for April 24 Bradley Manning Decision

Kevin Gosztola filed this request with the US Army, Office of the Judge Advocate General of the United States of America.
Submitted Aug. 3, 2012
Status
Completed
Tags

Communications

From: FireDogLake.com

Subject: None

None
FOIA REQUEST
Expedited processing requested

Dear FOIA Officer:

Pursuant to the federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 USC § 552, I request access to and copies of an April 24 decision and/or ruling issued by Judge Army Col. Denise Lind in the court martial proceedings for PFC. Bradley Manning. This decision directly addressed a motion for access to decisions, rulings, orders or any transcripts in the court martial of Manning. Lind denied an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) the opportunity to address the court. She read the decision on this motion in front of the public and credentialed media. Therefore, it should have no information in the decision or ruling that would be considered classified or necessary to withhold from the public. The contents could also not be said to violate the privacy of Manning if disclosed to the public because all the material was read while credentialed media and the public were present.

I would like to receive the information in the following format: electronic.

As a representative of the news media I am only required to pay for the direct cost of duplication after the first 100 pages. Through this request, I am gathering information on the court martial proceedings against PFC. Bradley Manning that is of current interest to the public because the government alleges he is responsible for possibly the largest security breach in American history.

I have a right to access records in the court martial of Manning but thus far have been denied. I am a plaintiff who, as of August 2, has signed on to a lawsuit filed by CCR that is before the United States Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF) and seeks to force the judge to grant the press and public access to court martial records. It has been suggested that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is available to journalists like myself and, as members of the press, we should use it if we want to gain access. That is a patently absurd argument for the government to make. I do not believe the government has any intention of filling any FOIA requests before Manning’s court martial is over, which is why I have signed on to the lawsuit that is before CAAF.

Since the government insists the press has FOIA available as some kind of substitute for access to court martial records, the Judge Advocate General’s Office should at least be able to release the judge’s decision that lays out why the press and public should have no access to records. Furthermore, the government has informed attorneys with CCR that they plan to make the judge’s decision or ruling on the motion a matter of public record on August 10, 2012. If the Judge Advocate General’s Office does not release a copy of the judge’s decision or ruling on this April 24 motion for access, it will be showing just how spectacularly ridiculous the government’s position is in defending secrecy in the court martial of Manning.

This information is being sought on behalf of Firedoglake for dissemination to the general public. Over 8,500 people have shown interest in the disclosure of this decision by signing on to the request.

Please waive any applicable fees. Release of the information is in the public interest because it will contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations and activities.

If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act. I will also expect you to release all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material. I, of course, reserve the right to appeal your decision to withhold any information or to deny a waiver of fees.

As I am making this request as a journalist and this information is of timely value, I would appreciate your communicating with me by email, rather than by mail, if you have questions regarding this request. My email is [redacted].

I am requesting expedited processing of this request Pursuant to 5 U.S.C section 552(a)(6)(E) based on compelling need and “urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity.” I certify, as required by regulation, that the compelling need for expedited processing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. This request is central to the transparency that is required for there to be an accurate recounting of the activities of the United States government in regard to the transparency of court martial proceedings currently taking place in the case of Pfc. Bradley Manning, currently on trial for his life. The prompt release of information as a means of informing the public about this case is crucial.

I look forward to your reply within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Kevin Gosztola

Co-Filed with the following individuals:

(Paul) Spencer Dawkins


a logan


a harper


A Longley


A Goodman


A Lynn Raiser


A. Waldschmidt


A. Dragun


A. Raclare Kanal


A.B. Kovats


"A.K., Anka & Chloe" Jhangiani


Aaron Todd


Aaron Kunkle


aaron urbanski


Aaron Walters


Aaron Molloy


Aaron Ucko


Aaron Dailey


Aaron Gayken

Click here to show all co-filers

From: Kevin Gosztola

Subject: None

None

Hi,

I wanted to follow up on the following public records request. No acknowledgement letter has been received yet.

Thanks for your assistance.

From: Patoir, Maanvi M CIV (US)

Subject: None

None

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Mr. Gosztola,

Our office does not have record of having received this FOIA request. Do you know to whom it was originally sent? It is not within our purview to maintain documents related to criminal trials. We will refer this request to the Office of the Judge Advocate General, Criminal Law Division and to Office of the Staff Judge Advocate for the Military District of Washington for their direct response to you.

v/r,
Maanvi

From: MuckRock

Subject: None

None

Thanks for your help. This request was originally mailed to:

Office of the Judge Advocate General
ATTN: DAJA-AL
2200 ARMY PENTAGON, RM 1E739
WASHINGTON, DC 20310-2200

Any help you can provide in helping get it to the correct office for processing is appreciated.

From: Thomas, Lisa CIV (US)

Subject: None

None

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Sir,

Your FOIA request was referred to the OTJAG Criminal Law Division. The
contact information for OTJAG Criminal Law Division is below:

Mr. Allan Pfautsch
Paralegal Specialist
Office of The Judge Advocate General
Criminal Law Division
2200 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310
Allan.a.pfautsch.civ@mail.mil

Please contact Mr. Pfautsch directly regarding the status of your case.
Thank you.

****************************

Your request was also referred to the Military District of Washington. The
contact information is below:

Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel
Military District of Washington
ATTN: Toni Jelks
103 Third Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20319
Toni.jelks@us.army.mil

Please contact Ms. Jelks directly regarding the status of your case. Thank
you.

v/r,

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Thomas, Lisa CIV (US)

Subject: None

None

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Mr. Gosztola,

As indicated in the email below, please contact the Criminal law Division and the Military District of Washington regarding the status of your case. I have copied them on this email.

Mr. Allan Pfautsch
Paralegal Specialist
Office of The Judge Advocate General
Criminal Law Division
2200 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310
Allan.a.pfautsch.civ@mail.mil

Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel
Military District of Washington
ATTN: Toni Jelks
103 Third Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20319
Toni.jelks@us.army.mil

Please contact the individuals above directly. They can inform you regarding the status of your case. Thank you.

v/r,

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Jelks, Toni L CIV (US)

Subject: None

None

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Sir,

I am very sorry for the delay but this was sent you on 27 Nov 12 with
redactions. If you need it recent please send me an address to send it to.

From: Jelks, Toni L CIV (US)

Subject: None

None

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Sir,

I trying to get you this information but I do not have a forwarding address.
I did send this to the P.O. Box 55819, Boston MA., on 26 Nov 2012.

From: Kevin Gosztola

Subject: None

None

Hello,

We have not received the documents. Could you resend to the following address?

MuckRock News
DEPT MR1646
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Thank you for your help.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Toni Jelks

Subject: None

None

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Caveats: NONE

To whom it may concern,

I am the FOIA Officer for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.

The subject FOI request was satisfied on 20 Sept 2012 yet we continue to receive automatic monthly follow up request. Inform the requester to close the request or close it yourself.

Thank You

Toni Jelks

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Caveats: NONE

From: MuckRock

Subject: None

None

Hello,

As indicated in previous notices, the responsive documents were never received. Please resend to:

MuckRock News
DEPT MR1646
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819

Thank you.

From: Office of the Judge Advocate General

Subject: None

None

A copy of documents responsive to the request.

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 3, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

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