Whitaker-Clovis emails

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

I. Description of Records Sought

I hereby request the following records under the Freedom of Information Act:

1. Emails between Matthew Whitaker and Sam Clovis (Sam.Clovis@osec.usda.gov) from September 22, 2017 to May 4, 2018. During that period, Mr. Whitaker served as chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Mr. Clovis served as a Senior White House Advisor in the Department of Agriculture.
2. Emails to or from Matthew Whitaker with the word "Clovis" in the email body from September 22, 2017 to the date this request is processed.

Please include any files attached to said emails. I prefer my request be filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Please produce the records on a rolling basis; at no point should the search for – or deliberation concerning – certain records delay the production of others that the agency has already retrieved and elected to produce.

If you determine that portions of the records requested are exempt from disclosure, I request that you segregate the exempt portions and deliver the non-exempt portions of such records. If the EPA denies all or part of this request, please cite the specific exemptions you believe justify your refusal to release the information.

II. Expedited Processing

Due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding the appointment of the acting attorney general and his key role in overseeing the special counsel's investigation, I request expedited treatment of this FOIA request. As described below in the Media Requester Status section, I am primarily engaged in disseminated information to the public. The information contained in this request is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

This request meets the three primary factors in determining whether there is an urgency to inform:

1. The request concerns a matter of current exigency to the American public, given that a federal investigation has now been put under the control of a person who has criticized it publicly. Citizens have a clear and present need to know if the friendship between Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Clovis, a witness in the investigation, requires that Mr. Whitaker recuse himself.
2. The consequences of delaying a response would compromise a significant recognized interest. Delaying this information through the normal FOIA process would represent a clear loss in value to the developing breaking news story. Furthermore, citizens need to be able to trust that federal investigations are taking place without political interference. Finally, Americans must have access to this information in order to have an informed opinion before a permanent replacement for attorney general, who could very well be Mr. Whitaker himself, is nominated and confirmed.
3. The request concerns federal government activity, specifically a relationship -- conducted using government email accounts -- between the acting attorney general and a witness in a federal investigation he oversees.

On top of the reasons mentioned above, 28 C.F.R. § 16.5(e)(1)(iv) provides for expedited processing when there is a "matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government's integrity that affect public confidence." That may as well have been written about the topic of this request. Evidence of this exceptional media interest and ongoing national discussion can be found in this small sample of news articles:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/11/08/acting-attorney-general-said-have-plans-recuse-himself-from-russia-probe/BGgZO2LGI3E84cEzPe3HSO/amp.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/matthew-whitaker-has-tangled-history-mueller-probe-n933951
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/bob-mueller-jeff-sessions-firing-matthew-whitaker/575248/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/matt-whitaker-donald-trump-friendship-recusal-debate_us_5be59875e4b0dbe871aa2c8d
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/07/trumps-acting-attorney-general-matthew-whitaker-will-take-over-mueller-probe-oversight-nbc-news.html
https://www.salon.com/2018/11/08/mark-whitaker-and-sam-clovis-trumps-new-attorney-general-has-a-major-conflict-of-interest/

III. Request for a Fee Waiver

I respectfully request that you waive all fees in connection with this request as provided by 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). The Sierra Club is a national environmental nonprofit with no commercial interest in obtaining the requested information. Instead, our organization intends to analyze and disseminate the requested information free of charge so that the public can meaningfully participate in the debate over the integrity of the special counsel's investigation.

The subject matter of the requested records is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government by disclosing details of the ongoing relationship between Mr. Whitaker, who as acting attorney general now oversees the special counsel's investigation, and Mr. Clovis, who as campaign supervisor of George Papadopoulos is a witness in the investigation. Mr. Whitaker is friends with Mr. Clovis from their history in Iowa politics. Some have claimed that this close relationship requires that Mr. Whitaker recuse himself from overseeing the special counsel's investigation.

The Sierra Club and its supporters have demonstrated interest and expertise in the subject area, as the organization is committed to maintaining the integrity of our democracy, our electoral process, and the rule of law. We have active campaigns on each of these issues, and our supporters have written tens of thousands of letters to Congress regarding the special counsel's investigation.

IV. Media Requester Status

In addition to the public interest fee waiver, I ask to be properly categorized as a representative of the news media. The bulk of my professional duties at the Sierra Club entails planning and writing content about public policy, including composing mass communications to our followers, analyzing FOIA responses, and preparing summaries for press outreach.

I have previously written about the federal hiring freeze's impact on agencies:

https://sierraclub.org/planet/2017/05/trump-admin-policies-leave-700-cdc-jobs-vacant
https://sierraclub.org/planet/2017/04/hiring-freeze-prevented-epa-filling-hundreds-jobs

This work, supplemented by Freedom of Information Act requests, was covered in major media outlets:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/05/19/nearly-700-vacancies-at-cdc-because-of-trump-administration-hiring-freeze/
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/13/politics/epa-hiring-freeze/index.html

The Sierra Club has the ability and intention to disseminate the information it receives through this request. The information may be shared through emails to an audience reaching into the millions, Facebook and Twitter posts reaching tens of thousands of followers, articles on our often-visited website, and analysis provided to the media.

In the event that there are fees, please inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request.

Sincerely,

Alexander Rony
Sierra Club

To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to request an update on my Freedom of Information Act request, number DOJ-2019-000819, which has received expedited processing. The last communication I received from your office, on May 29, 2019, indicated that searches had begun and were "still ongoing." When can I expect those records?

Thank you,
Alexander Rony