Secretary of Defense FOIA Briefings 1/20/2009-Present (OSD)
| Tracking # |
14-F-0529 |
| Submitted | March 7, 2014 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Jason Smathers
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
A copy of each written briefing or notes from verbal briefings where the secretary of defense is briefed on any FOIA request. Please limit the search to records created between 1/20/2009 and the date this is request is processed.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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,
Jason Smathers
From: Santos, Adrienne M CIV WHS ESD (US)
Dear Mr. Smathers:
This is an interim response to your attached electronic Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated March 7, 2014. Your request was received in this office on March 7, 2014, and assigned FOIA case number 14-F-0529. We ask that you use that number when referring to your request.
Concerning your request for a fee waiver on the basis that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest, decisions to waive or reduce fees are made on a case-by-case basis and cannot be made until a search for responsive records has been conducted and the volume and nature of any responsive records have been determined. As soon as the results of the search for responsive records are known, and a review of all releasable records has been completed, we will write to you again.
As you may not be aware, the FOIA requires all requesters to state a willingness to pay FOIA fees. In that regard, this office has determined that your request should be placed in the "other" fee category. Accordingly, you are entitled to the first two hours of search time at no charge, and the first 100 pages of duplication free of charge. Subsequent processing will be assessed at the established DoD fee rates of: professional search time, $44 per hour; executive search time, $75 per hour; and document reproduction at $0.15 per page. Because you have not stated a willingness to pay all assessable fees for search and/or duplication costs in the event your request for a fee waiver is denied, your search will be limited to the two hours you are entitled to as an "other" category requester and a fee waiver decision will be based on the results of that two hour search. If you are willing to pay fees beyond the initial two hours, please provide that amount to this office. If we do not hear from you by March 28, 2014, we will conclude that you do not want the search to proceed beyond your free two hours.
At this time, we are unable to make a release determination on your request within the 20-day statutory time period as there are unusual circumstances which impact our ability to quickly process your request. These unusual circumstances are: (a) the need to search for and collect records from several offices geographically separated from this Office and (b) the need to consult with one or more agencies or DoD components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. For these reasons, your request has been placed in our complex processing queue and it will be worked in the order the request was received. As a matter of information, our current administrative workload is approximately 1,449 open requests. I apologize for the anticipated delay in responding to your request; your continued patience is appreciated.
If you are not satisfied with this action, you may appeal to the appellate authority, by writing directly to the Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office, Attn: Mr. James Hogan, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-1155. Your appeal should be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter, should cite to case number 14-F-0529, and should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."
v/r
Adrienne M. Santos, FOIA Analyst
for Suzanne Council on behalf of
Paul Jacobsmeyer, Chief,
Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
(571) 372-0414
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 7, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #14-F-0529.
Thank you for your help.
From: Santos, Adrienne M CIV WHS ESD (US)
TO: MuckRock News
ATTN: Jason Smathers
Boston, MA
Sent by electronic mail: requests@muckrock.com
Dear Mr. Smathers:
This is the final response to your enclosed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated March 7, 2014. Your request was received in this office on March 7, 2014 and assigned FOIA case number 14-F-0529.
This Office initiated a search for responsive records with the Executive Secretariat (EXSEC), a component of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which resulted in no records responsive to your request. We believe that this search method was appropriate and could reasonably be expected to produce the requested records if they existed.
If you should deem this no record response to be a denial of your request, you may submit an administrative appeal to the appellate authority, the Director of Administration and Management, Office of the Secretary of Defense, by writing directly to Mr. James Hogan, Defense Freedom of Information Policy Office, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155. Your appeal should be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter, should cite to case number 14-F-0529, and should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal." Your request is now closed in this Office. There are no fees associated with this response.
v/r
Adrienne M. Santos, FOIA Analyst
For Suzanne Council on behalf of
Paul Jacobsmeyer, Chief,
Freedom of Information Act Division
OSD/JS FOIA Office
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