Jay Gairson

I am thinking of responding to the notice that “the estimated completion date at this time is April 2015”, with:

” Thank you for the update.

Could you please check this request against FOIA request F-2011-26406? These requests are substantially similar. Given that the processing time for this request is approximately two years, it is reasonable to assume that request F-2011-26406 would be nearing the completion of a response. In which case, as the original requestor for F-2011-26406, I ask that you redirect the records received in that request to this request, but release them based on their immediate availability rather than waiting until all documents are processed and available. I do understand that new materials generated from 2011 to 2013 are not available as part of F-2011-26406, but request that those materials be pursued as they too become available.<br /> “

Any thoughts on problems this response may cause?

Note, I never received any response or notice to my old F-2011-26406 request. I did not even receive acknowledgement it was received and spent ages wondering if I had actually even sent it out . . . until I found my name in the FOIA logs for 2011.

Shawn Musgrave

That is incredible that you never got an acknowledgement but were in the FOIA logs.

MuckRock has certainly used this tactic successfully in the past – by making the case that similar requests were processed at minimal cost or relatively quickly, you can highlight the inconsistencies agencies apply from one agent to another. 

Has there been any progress on this?