Utah AG/OUR

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Government Records Access and Management Act, I hereby request the following records:

Public reports state that the Utah Office of the Attorney General has previously partnered with the anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad, as has Attorney General Reyes in his individual capacity before he took office. (See: https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4550294&itype=CMSID and https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2020/07/30/rmw-utah-attorney-general-attends-march-against-child-trafficking-in-st-george/ and https://www.deseret.com/2015/1/15/20556524/utah-a-g-sean-reyes-made-secret-trip-to-rescue-child-sex-slaves-in-colombia#sean-reyes-talks-to-the-media-after-taking-the-oath-of-office-as-utahs-attorney-general-in-the-rotunda-of-the-state-capitol-in-salt-lake-city-on-monday-dec-30-2013-reyes-replaces-john-swallow-who-resigned-in-november.)

Therefore, I hereby request the following records:
1) All instructional materials, presentations and presentation materials (including recorded video and audio, PowerPoint files, prepared remarks, and slides formats), and other guidance on how Operation Underground Railroad works and any partnerships, formal or informal, they may have with the Attorney General's office or Mr. Reyes individually. This includes A) any notes taken during meetings that discussed Operation Underground Railroad, B) any other document that has been used to help explain OUR, including internal documentation, public relations materials, and executive summaries.

2) A copy of any funding opportunity announcements, grant applications and grantor status/progress reports, reports to legislative bodies, or annual reports that mention Operation Underground Railroad, as well as audit records, including but not limited to reports to oversight bodies.

3) Any digital communications including but not limited to emails and text messages) as well as documents, (including but not limited to PDF, word processing, excel, and slide documents) that mention Operation Underground Railroad.

4) Any digital communications (including but not limited to emails and text messages) with Operation Underground Railroad representatives, including but not limited to Timothy Ballard.

Please try to include any other miscellaneous documents that facilitate the office's relationship with Operation Underground Railroad that don't neatly fall neatly into the above categories.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

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 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Anna Merlan

Hi Ms. Street,

My name is Anna Merlan, I'm a senior reporter at Vice News but filed this request using a service called MuckRock, which is why I didn't immediately see your mailed response.

Can you please clarify what you're telling me? Are you saying that you have the records in your possession but they are subject to an exemption from the statute, or are you saying that you do not have the records in your possession?

Best,
Anna

Thanks very much! It appears MuckRock mistakenly fused two requests -- I was indeed not responding to you. Thanks very much - I will follow up in a few weeks and see if the investigation is ongoing and the records are still unavailable.

Best,
Anna