F-2016-02374 INITIAL REQUEST

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06604872
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: July 11, 2023
• Document Release Date: September 30, 2022
• Case Number: F-2017-00390
• Publication Date: August 11, 2016

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Subject:
Central Intelligence Agency
Information and Privacy Coordinator
703-613-3007
VICE News
iason leopold
(b)(6)
Request for records under the Freedom of Information Act
Request for records under the Freedom of Information Act
Central Intelligence Agency
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Washington, D.C. 20505
This is a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. � 552 and the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. �
552a. This request should be considered under both statutes to maximize the release of records.
REQUESTER INFORMATION
Name: Jason Leopold
Position: Investigative Reporter
Address:
Email.
RECORDS SOUGHT
request disclosure from the CIA of any and all records, which includes but is not limited to, white papers, reports, memos, that
was prepared by the agency exploring the national security implications of a Donald Trump presidency.
Request for Expedited Processing
I ask that my request be given expedited processing because there is an urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged
federal government activity, and I am a person primarily engaged in disseminating information.
As a senior investigative journalist at VICE News, I am a full-time member of the news media. !therefore quality as a person
primarily engaged in disseminating information.
There is an urgent need to inform the public about the national security implications a Donald Trump presidency would pose to
the US and its allies in this hotly contested election year, as well as any information about them that is possessed by federal
agencies. This request seeks records which will shed light on government activity regarding Donald Trump and the potential
national security threat his presidency would pose to millions of Americans that the public that the public needs to be immediately
informed about. Additionally, these documents will likely contain information about the candidates that is otherwise unavailable
publicly. And because this is an election year, the need for these records is urgent.
I certify the foregoing to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
/s/ Jason Leopold
Jason Leopold
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INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING SEARCH
1. hstructions Regarding "Leads":
As required by the relevant case law, the CIA should follow any leads it discovers during the conduct of its searches and perform
additional searches when said leads indicate that records may be located in another system. Failure to follow clear leads is a
violation of FOIA.
2. Request for Public Records:
Please search for any records even if they are already publicly available.
3. Request for Electronic and Paper/Manual Searches:
I request that searches of all electronic and paper/manual indices, filing systems, and locations for any and all records relating or
referring to the subject of my request be conducted.
4. Request for Search of Filing Systems, Indices, and Locations:
I request that the CIA search all of its offices and components which are likely to contain responsive records.
5. Request regarding Photographs and other Visual Materials:
I request that any photographs or other visual materials responsive to my request be released to me in their original or
comparable forms, quality, and resolution. For example, if a photograph was taken digitally, or if the CIA maintains a photograph
digitally, I request disclosure of the original digital image file, not a reduced resolution version of that image file nor a printout and
scan of that image file. Likewise, if a photograph was originally taken as a color photograph, I request disclosure of that
photograph as a color image, not a black and white image. Please contact me for any clarification on this point.
6. Request for Duplicate Pages:
I request disclosure of any and all supposedly "duplicate" pages. Scholars analyze records not only for the information available
on any given page, but also for the relationships between that information and information on pages surrounding it. As such,
though certain pages may have been previously released to me, the existence of those pages within new context renders them
functionally new pages. As such, the only way to properly analyze released information is to analyze that information within its
proper context. Therefore, I request disclosure of all "duplicate" pages.
7. Request to Search Emai Is:
Please search for emai Is relating to the subject matter of my request.
B. Request for Search of Records Transferred to Other Agencies:
I request that in conducting its search, the CIA disclose releasable records even if they are available publicly through other
sources outside the ClA, such as NARA.
9. Regarding Destroyed Records
If any records responsive or potentially responsive to my request have been destroyed, my request includes, but is not limited to,
any and all records relating or referring to the destruction of those records. This includes, but is not limited to, any and all records
relating or referring to the events leading to the destruction of those records.
INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING SCOPE AND BREADTH OF REQUESTS
Please interpret the scope of this request broadly. The CIA is instructed to interpret the scope of this request
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manner possible short of aninterpretation that would lead to a conclusion that the request does not reasonably describe the
records sought.
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EXEMPTIONS AND SEGREGABILITY
I call your attention to President Obama's 21 January 2009 Memorandum concerning the Freedom of Information Act, in which he
states:
All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in
FOIA [....] The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.
In the same Memorandum, President �barna added that government information should not be kept confidential "merely
because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of
speculative or abstract fears."
Finally, President ()barna ordered that "The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: h the
case of doubt, openness prevails."
Nonetheless, if any responsive record or portion thereof is claimed to be exempt from production, FOINPA statutes provide that
even if some of the requested material is properly exempt from mandatory disclosure, all segregable portions must be released.
If documents are denied in part or in whole, please specify which exemption(s) is (are) claimed for each passage or whole
document denied. Please provide a complete itemized inventory and a detailed factual justification of total or partial denial of
documents. Specify the number of pages in each document and the total number of pages pertaining to this request. For
"classified" material denied, please include the following information: the classification (confidential, secret or top secret); identity
of the classifier; date or event for automatic declassification or classification review or downgrading; if applicable, identity of
official authorizing extension of automatic declassification or review past six years; and, if applicable, the reason for extended
classification beyond six years.
In excising material, please "black out" the material rather than "white out" or "cut out." I expect, as provided by FOIA, that the
remaining non-exempt portions of documents will be released.
Please release all pages regardless of the extent of excising, even if all that remains are the stationery headings or
administrative markings.
In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to release records which may be technically exempt, but where
withholding serves no important public interest.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING REQUEST
Please produce all records with administrative markings and pagination included.
Please send a memo (copy to me) to the appropriate units in your office to assure that no records related to this request are
destroyed. Please advise of any destruction of records and include the date of and authority for such destruction.
FORMAT
I request that any releases stemming from this request be provided to me in digital format (soft-copy) on a compact disk or other
like media.
FEE CATEGORYAND REQUEST FORA FEE WAIVER
lam an investigative reporter for VICE News covering a wide-range of issues, including Guantanamo, national security,
counterterrorism, civil liberties, human rights, and open government. Additionally, my reporting has been published in the-The
Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Salon, CBS Marketwatch, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Truthout,
Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera America.
lam willing to pay any reasonable expenses associated with this request, however, as the purpose of the requested disclosure is
in full conformity with the statutory requirements for a waiver of fees, I formally request such a waiver. I request a waiver of all
costs pursuant to 5 U.S.C. �552(a)(4)(A)(iii) ("Documents shall be furnished without any charge ... if disclosure of the information
is in the pubfic interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the
government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester."). Disclosure in this case meets the statutory criteria,
and a fee waiver would fulfill Congress's legislative intent in amending FOIA. See Judicial Watch, Inc v Rossotti, 326 F.3d 1309,
1312 (D.C. Cir. 2003) ("Congress amended FOIA to ensure that it be 'liberally construed in favor of waivers for noncommercial
requesters."). I incorporate by reference the explanation and attached materials in the above sections which demonstrates why
the requested information is in the public interest.
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(b)(6)
DoD 5400.7-R C6.1.4.1 provides that "documents shall be furnished without charge, or at a charge reduced below fees
assessed to the categories of requesters in subsection C6.1.5., below, when the Component determines that waiver or reduction
of the fees is in the public interest because furnishing the information is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of
the operations or activities of the Department of Defense and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester."
Should my request for a fee waiver be denied, I request that I be categorized as a member of the news media for fee purposes
pursuant to DoD 5400.7-R C6.1.5.7. According to 5 U.S.C. � 552(a)(4)(A)(ii), which codified the ruling of Nat'l Security Archive
v. Dep't of Defense, 880 F.2d 1381 (D.C. Cir. 1989), the term "a representative of the news media" means any person or entity
that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a
distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. This is consistent with the definition provided in DoD 5400.7-R
C6.1.5.7.1.
As the legislative history of FOlA reveals, "It is critical that the phrase 'representative of the news media' be broadly interpreted if
the act is to work as expected_ .. . In fact, any person or organization which regularly publishes or disseminates information to
the public . should qualify for waivers as a 'representative of the news media.- 132 Cong. Rec. 514298 (daily ed. Sept. 30,
1986) (emphasis in original quotation); and 2) "A request by a reporter or other person affiliated with a newspaper, magazine,
television or radio station, or other entity that is in the business of publishing or otherwise disseminating information to the public
qualifies under this provision," 132 Cong. Rec. H9463 (Oct. 8,1986) (emphasis in original quotation)). Therefore, in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and relevant case law, I, Jason Leopold, should be considered a representative
of the news media.
I have the intent and ability to disseminate this significant expansion of public understanding of government operations. The
public interest in this significant expansion of public understanding of government operations far outweighs any commercial
interest of my own in the requested release. Accordingly, my fee waiver request amply satisfies the rules of DoD 5400.7-R
C6.1.4.1. Legislative history and judicial authority emphatically support this determination. For these reasons, and based upon
their extensive elaboration above, I request a full waiver of fees be granted. I will appeal any denial of my request for a waiver
administratively and to the courts if necessary.
.rt*
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions concerning this request.
Thank you. I appreciate your time and attention to this matter.
JASON LEOPOLD
Senior investipatiw Reporter, VICE News
VICE MEDIA LLC
589 Venice Blvd
Los Aneeles, CA 90291
(b)(6)
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