Secret Service and Spousal Abuse

Emma North-Best filed this request with the United States Secret Service of the United States of America.

It is a clone of this request.

Submitted Feb. 23, 2017
Est. Completion None
Status
No Responsive Documents

Communications

From: Michael Best

Subject: Freedom of Information Request: Secret Service and Spousal Abuse

Email

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Materials relating to and copies of any discussions or legal opinions about the duties of the Secret Service regarding protecting the First Family in the event of domestic abuse within the First Family.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities for AND Magazine, MuckRock and Glomar Disclosure and have an open arrangement with each. My articles have been widely read, with some reaching over 100,000 readers. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through the non-profit Internet Archive, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance. Additionally, case law states that “proof of the ability to disseminate the released information to a broad cross-section of the public is not required.” Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep’t of Justice, 365 F.3d 1108, 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2004); see Carney v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 19 F.3d 807, 814-15 (2d Cir. 1994). Further, courts have held that "qualified because it also had “firm” plans to “publish a number of . . . ‘document sets’” concerning United States foreign and national security policy." Under this criteria, as well, I qualify as a member of the news media. Additionally, courts have held that the news media status "focuses on the nature of the requester, not its request. The provision requires that the request be “made by” a representative of the news media. Id. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). A newspaper reporter, for example, is a representative of the news media regardless of how much interest there is in the story for which he or she is requesting information." As such, the details of the request itself are moot for the purposes of determining the appropriate fee category. As such, my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available and I therefore request that fees be waived.

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,

Michael Best

From: FOIA

Subject: FOIA File Number 20171066

Email

MuckRock
DEPT MR 33926
411A Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
Attn: Michael Best

File Number: 20171066

Dear Requester:

This letter is intended to acknowledge the receipt of your recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, received by the United States Secret Service (Secret Service) on February 23, 2017, for information pertaining to materials relating to discussions or legal opinions about the duties of the Secret Service regarding protecting the First Family in the event of domestic abuse within the First Family.

Please be advised, provisions of the Act allow us to recover part of the cost of complying with your request. We shall charge you for the records in accordance with Interim FOIA regulations as they apply to "media" requesters. The first 100 pages of duplication are free of charge. As a "media" requester, you will be charged .10 cents a page for the duplication of each additional page.

Furthermore, the submission of your request is considered a firm commitment, by you, to pay all applicable duplication and search time costs charged, under 6 C.F.R., Chapter I, Part 5 § 5.11, up to $25.00. A search for files responsive to your request is being conducted. The appropriate components of the Secret Service are being queried for responsive documents. If any responsive records are located, they will be reviewed for a disclosure determination. You will be contacted before any additional fees are accrued.

Due to the increasing number of FOIA requests received by this office, we may encounter some delay in processing your request. Per Section 5.5(a) of the FOIA regulations, 6 C.F.R, Part 5, the Secret Service processes FOIA requests according to their order of receipt.

Your request has been assigned FOIA File No. 20171066. We solicit your cooperation and assure you that the search will be conducted as expeditiously as possible.

To check the status of your FOIA request, please contact this office at (202) 406-6370. Please use the file number indicated above in all future correspondence with this office.

Thank You,

Freedom of Information Act & Privacy Act Program
United States Secret Service
245 Murray Lane, SW, Building T-5
Washington, DC 20223
Phone: (202) 406-6370
Fax: (202) 406-5586
Email: FOIA@USSS.DHS.GOV<mailto:Foia@usss.dhs.gov>

All e-mail to/from this account is subject to official review and is for official use only. Action may be taken in response to any inappropriate use of the Secret Service's e-mail system. This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, law enforcement sensitive, or subject to other disclosure limitations. Such information is loaned to you and should not be further disseminated without the permission of the Secret Service. If you have received this e-mail in error, do not keep, use, disclose, or copy it; notify the sender immediately and delete it.

From: Michael Best

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: Secret Service and Spousal Abuse

Email

"Furthermore, the submission of your request is considered a firm commitment, by you, to pay all applicable duplication and search time costs charged, under 6 C.F.R., Chapter I, Part 5 § 5.11, up to $25.00"

Per my original request, this is not the case. Notify me if there are more than 100 pages and before any duplication fees would be accrued.

From: FOIA

Subject: FOIA File Number 20171066/Final Response

Email

Dear Requester,

Attached you will find the final response regarding your Freedom of Information Act & Privacy Act request. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact this office at (202) 406-6370.

Thank You,

Freedom of Information Act & Privacy Act Program
United States Secret Service
245 Murray Lane, SW, Building T-5
Washington, DC 20223
Phone: (202) 406-6370
Fax: (202) 406-5586
Email: FOIA@USSS.DHS.GOV<mailto:Foia@usss.dhs.gov>

All e-mail to/from this account is subject to official review and is for official use only. Action may be taken in response to any inappropriate use of the Secret Service's e-mail system. This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, law enforcement sensitive, or subject to other disclosure limitations. Such information is loaned to you and should not be further disseminated without the permission of the Secret Service. If you have received this e-mail in error, do not keep, use, disclose, or copy it; notify the sender immediately and delete it.

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