GAFFNEY, BRIAN; FINAL RESPONSE TO FEE WAIVER

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0001481413
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: June 24, 2015
• Document Release Date: March 11, 2011
• Case Number: F-2010-01608
• Publication Date: September 17, 2007

Central Intelligence Agency
Brian Gaffney, Esquire
605 Market Street, Suite 505
San Francisco, CA 94105
Reference: F-2007-01308
Dear Mr. Gaffney:
SEP 17 2007
This is a final response to your 1 June 2007 appeal of the Agency's denial of your
request for a waiver of fees for processing your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request on behalf of your client, the Institute for Policy Studies, for "All records related to
the CIA's FOIA request #F-1999-00924, including the original FOIA request, all records
released related thereto, and all other documents related to this FOIA request."
You are appealing the decision to deny your request for a fee waiver. The fee
waiver provisions of the FOIA, as amended in 1986, mandate that requests for fee waivers
must meet two criteria. These criteria are: (1) the disclosure of the information must be in
the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of
the operations or activities of the United States.Government, and (2) the disclosure of the
information is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester
[5 U.S.C. ? 552(a)(4)(A)(iii)].
CIA has promulgated regulations to implement the amended fee waiver provisions,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. ? 552(a) (4)(A)(i), and has incorporated into Agency regulations
Department of Justice recommendations regarding the utilization of six analytical factors
in making determination on fee waiver requests. These factors are published in CIA
regulations at 32 C.F.R. ? 1900.13, a copy of which I have enclosed. .
You allege that a fee waiver is appropriate in this case because "Disclosure of this
information is likely to contribute to the public's understanding of the activities of the
United States with respect to the CIA's compliance with the FOIA, FOIA's regulations and
the CIA Information Act when processing FOIA requests." You further allege that
disclosure will contribute significantly to the public's understanding of the operations of
the government because it will "elevate the public's awareness and understanding of the
U.S. government's FOIA policy."
Information about the Government's and CIA's compliance with the Freedom of
Information Act is widely available. Each year the Agency must publish an annual: report
with the Department of Justice documenting its performance for the past fiscal year.
APPROVED FOR RELEASEL
DATE: 02-Mar-2011
 The Agency must also file and publish status reports on its compliance with Executive
Order 13392, "Improving Agency Disclosure of Information." All these documents are
available on our website at www.foia.cia.gov. Furthermore, we have published the
regulations we use to administer our information disclosure programs in the Code of
Federal Regulations, available to anyone. Many of the documents you seek may already
be part of the public record as part of the litigation surrounding the subject of the initial
request.
I therefore deny your request for a fee waiver because the disclosure of the specific
information you seek will not contribute significantly to the public's already widespread
understanding of the government's and CIA's compliance with the Freedom of
Information Act.
Please be assured that my decision does not mean that you will receive no
information. We will process your request as of the date we receive it, and release to you
everything we can. You can then use it to whatever purpose the Institute for Public Studies
desires.
In accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, you have the
right to seek judicial review of my decision in a United States District Court.
Edmund Cohen
Chair, Agency Release Panel