WikiLeaks (United States Secret Service)
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
USSS 20190782 |
| Multi Request | WikiLeaks |
| Submitted | May 20, 2019 |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
I seek any and all documents in the agency's possession that pertain to the WikiLeaks website or organization from January 2006 to the present date, including but not limited to emails, memos, notes, briefings, reports and other documents related to, mentioning or generated as a result of:
* guidance and instructions for employees regarding visiting the website or otherwise reading or learning about it in the news
* internal reactions to the website's existence and disclosures
* damage reports regarding the website and its disclosures
* efforts to identify, investigate and/or mitigate potential leaks to the website
* efforts to identify, investigate and/or mitigate potential unauthorized viewing of the website or news reports analyzing it and/or its contents
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,
Emma Best
From: United States Secret Service
Submitted on Monday, May 27, 2019 - 14:47
Submitted by user: Anonymous
Submitted values are:
Select the DHS component you wish to submit your request to: : United States
Secret Service (USSS)
Title:
First Name: Emma
Middle Initial:
Last Name: Best
Suffix:
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com
Country: United States
Address 1: MuckRock News DEPT MR 73707
Address 2: 411A Highland Ave
City: Somerville
State: Massachusetts
Zip Code: 02144
Telephone Number:
Fax Number:
Are you requesting records on yourself? No
If yes, you must check the perjury statement:
By initialing here you are providing your electronic signature.:
Please describe the records you are seeking as clearly and precisely as
possible:
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:
I seek any and all documents in the agency's possession that pertain to the
WikiLeaks website or organization from January 2006 to the present date,
including but not limited to emails, memos, notes, briefings, reports and
other documents related to, mentioning or generated as a result of:
* guidance and instructions for employees regarding visiting the website or
otherwise reading or learning about it in the news
* internal reactions to the website's existence and disclosures
* damage reports regarding the website and its disclosures
* efforts to identify, investigate and/or mitigate potential leaks to the
website
* efforts to identify, investigate and/or mitigate potential unauthorized
viewing of the website or news reports analyzing it and/or its contents
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,
Emma Best
Attachments:
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/TheEmmaBest/70716/Fee20category20and20search20parameters.pdf
Upload documents directly:
https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/
I am willing to pay fees for this request up to the amount of: $: 1
Select from the list below: An individual seeking information for personal
use and not for commercial use.
I request a waiver of all fees for this request.:
Please provide an explanation for your request for a fee waiver:
Please select and describe in detail if you believe your request warrants
expeditious handling:
Please provide information to support your selection:
From: United States Secret Service
Dear Requester, Please see the attached letter regarding the status of yourFOIA/PA request. If you have any questions in regard to 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: (2020 406-5586 Email: 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: Emma North-Best
I am appealing the determination that I am an "all other" requester, as I am widely recognized journalist published in numerous outlets. The facts and case law leave no room to categorize me as anything other than news media, which has been recognized by agencies ranging from the Department of Justice to the Central Intelligence Agency. Please see the following text, which was included as an attachment to the original request:
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, AND Magazine, Unicorn Riot, and more. 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 non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and and the journalist non-profit, MuckRock, 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.
From: United States Secret Service
Dear Requester, Please see the attached letter regarding the status of yourFOIA/PA request. If you have any questions in regard to 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: (2020 406-5586 Email: 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: United States Secret Service
Dear Requester, Please see the attached letter regarding the status of yourFOIA/PA request. If you have any questions in regard to 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: (2020 406-5586 Email: 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: Emma North-Best
I will not narrow the request, and it is consistent with caselaw which affirms it is not overly broad. Process the request as-is.
From: United States Secret Service
Dear Requester, Please see the attached letter regarding the status of yourFOIA/PA request. If you have any questions in regard to 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: (2020 406-5586 Email: 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: Emma North-Best
I am appealing the rejection in its entirety, as the caselaw establishes that the scope of the FOIA is proper (see Shapiro v. CIA, No. 14-00019, 2016 WL 1069646 (D.D.C. Mar. 17, 2016) (Cooper, J.)), and agencies are not allowed to claim non-specific, hypothetical FOIA exemptions to general material without attempting to segregate the material nor is the assertion that the documents "would be heavily redacted" a reason to deny the request.
From: United States Secret Service
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
Files
pages