RAUTENBERG, ERWIN; STATUS LETTER

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0001528808
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: June 22, 2015
• Document Release Date: May 26, 2009
• Case Number: F-2007-01743
• Publication Date: February 7, 2000

APPROVED FOR
RELEASE DATE:
29-Apr-2009
Jon W. van Horne
[phone]
[e-mail]
Kathryn I. Dyer
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
February 7, 2000
Re: Request for Records Under Freedom of Information Act
Reference No. F-1999-01980
Dear Ms. Dyer:
U-11 x}00
The subject request for records was submitted by letter of September 13, 1999, signed by
Raymond B. Kim, then with the firm of Goldberg, Scott, Belfield, Steinberg & Cohen, and now
with Greenberg Traurig. The request was made on behalf of Erwin Rautenberg. A copy of the
original request (without attachments) is enclosed.
By letter of October 13, 1999, copy enclosed, you denied Mr. Kim's request for a fee
waiver. By letter of October 29, 1999, copy enclosed, Mr. Kim requested an estimate of the fees.
No response has been received to Mr. Kim's letter of October 29, 1999.
To facilitate the processing of the subject request, on behalf of Mr. Kim and
Mr. Rautenberg, we are willing to pay all reasonable and standard processing fees authorized by
5 U.S.C. ? 552(a)(4)(A) and applicable regulations. Please provide me with prior notice in the
event that you determine that such fees will exceed $1000.00.
A PARTNERSHIP OF LIMITED LIABILITY ENTITIES
800 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, N.W. SUITE 500 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006
202-331-3100 FAX [phone] www.gtiaw.com
MIAMI NEW YORK WASHINGTON, D.C. ATLANTA PHILADELPHIA MCLEAN CHICAGO BOSTON PHOENIX WILMINGTON
SAO PAULO FORT LAUDERDALE BOCA RATON WEST PALM BEACH ORLANDO TALLAHASSEE
 Kathryn I. Dyer
February 7, 2000
Page 2
In so agreeing, we do not waive our right to appeal the denial of our waiver request or the
amount of fees ultimately charged.
Sincerely yours,
CL---'~ da'(Z~Z~
Jon W. van Home
Enclosure: Three items of correspondence
cc: Mr. Erwin Rautenberg
Raymond B. Kim
A PARTNERSHIP OF LIMITED LIABILITY ENTITIES
800 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, N.W. SUITE 500 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006
202-331-3100 FAX [phone] www.gtlaw.com
MIAMI NEW YORK WASHINGTON, D.C. ATLANTA PHILADELPHIA MCLEAN CHICAGO BOSTON PHOENIX WILMINGTON
SAO PAULO FORT LAUDERDALE BOCA RATON WEST PALM BEACH ORLANDO TALLAHASSEE
 G O L D B E R G
SCOT T
B E L F I E L D
STEINBERG
F. COHEN
September 13, 1999
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
Re: Request For Records Under Freedom of Information Act
This letter is written on behalf of Erwin Rautenberg to request the disclosure of copies of
materials available from the Central Intelligence Agency under the Freedom of Information Act and
the regulations of your agency, including, but not limited to, Code of Federal Regulation ? 1900, et
seq. The documents requested are described in greater detail below in the "Addendum to Freedom
of Information Act Request" attached to this letter.
Under present regulations and case law pertaining to the Freedom of Information Act, the
below-described documents are available to Mr. Rautenberg and other members of the public. They
are not exempt from required disclosure under present interpretations of the Act.
The Central Intelligence Agency is believed to have custody of the below-described
documents. However, if the Central Intelligence Agency does not have custody of these documents,
I hereby request that you provide me prompt notice of their present location so that a request for
disclosure may be made to the agency holding these documents.
If any portion of this request is deemed denied, I request a detailed statement of reasons why
the Central Intelligence Agency is withholding documents. I further request that the Central
Intelligence Agency prepare an index or similar statement of the nature of the documents being
withheld.
I hereby request that the Department of Justice furnish the requested records in complete and
unredacted form. Tfurther request, pursuant to the Act and 32 CFR ? 1900.13(b), that these records
be furnished without charge or at a reduced rate because this request is in the public interest and is
likely to contribute significantly to the public understanding of the operations or activities of the
United States Government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
1925 CENTURY PARK EAST SUITE 2200 Los ANGELES, CA 90067
TEL [phone] FAx [phone]
 GOLDBERG, SCOTT, BELFIELD, STEINBERG & COHEN
A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
September 10, 1999
Page2of2
If no fee waiver or reduction is granted, the requester agrees to pay the reasonable charges
incurred under regulation for the search and copying of the requested documents, upon presentation
of an invoice along with the finished documents. If search and copying fees exceed $500, please
telephone me in advance at [phone] for agreement to such charges.
I look forward to hearing from you within twenty (20) working days with the documents
requested.
Very truly yours,
GOLDBERG, SCOTT, BELFIELD,
STEINBERG & COHEN
A Professional Law Corporation
 GOLDBERG, SCOTT, BELFIELD, STEINBERG & COHEN
A PROFESSIONAL LAw CORPORATION
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
September 10, 1999
Page 3 of 2
bcc: Matthew S. Steinberg, Esq.
Erwin Rautenberg
 US Postal Service
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 4P Central Intelligence Agency
OCT 13 1999
Mr. Raymond B. Kim
Goldberg, Scott, Belfield, Steinberg & Cohen
1925 Century Park East
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, California 90067
Reference: F-1999-01980
Dear Mr. Kim:
This acknowledges receipt of your 13 September 1999 Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request on behalf of your client, Erwin Rautenberg,.for
a list of 193 specific records pertaining to the "Air-Sea Forwarders
Case." Among the 193 line items are 39 entries for which you have provided
redacted copies of documents and requested "unredacted" copies. Your request
has been assigned the reference number above for identification purposes.
Please refer to this number in future correspondence about this request.
We have determined that we can search for the records you have
requested on behalf of your client. With regard to your request for a fee
waiver, we have determined that disclosure of the requested documents will
not contribute significantly to the public understanding of U.S. Government
operations or activities. Therefore, your request for a fee waiver is denied.
With regard to the determination of a fee category, the determination
can turn on the use to which the requested information would be put, rather
that on the identity of the requester. As it is not clear from your letter to what
purpose any disclosed records would be put, we ask that you provide us such
information so that we can make a fee category determination. We have
enclosed a copy of our fee schedule for your guidance.
 We will be unable to begin processing your request until you have
provided the clarification requested above. Meanwhile, will hold your request
in abeyance for 45 days from the date of this letter pending your reply.
Sincerely,
Kathryn I. Dyer
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Enclosure
 32 CFR Parts 1900, 1901, 1907, 1908, and
1909
Freedom of Information Act; Privacy Act;
and Executive Doer 12958; Implementation
?1900.02 Definitions
For purposes of this part, the following
terms have the meanings indicated:
(a) Agency or CIA means the United
States Central Intelligence Agency acting
through the CIA Information and Privacy
Coordinator;
(b) Days means calendar days when the
Agency is operating and specifically excludes
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays.
Three (3) days may be added to any time limit
imposed on a requester by this part if
responding by U.S. domestic mail; ten (10)
days may be added if responding by
international mail;
(c) Control means ownership or the
authority of the CIA pursuant to federal statute
or privilege to regulate official or public access
to records,
(d) Coordinator means the CIA
Information and Privacy Coordinator who
serves as the Agency manager of the
information review and release program
instituted under the Freedom of Information
Act;
(e) Direct costs means those expenditures
which an agency actually incurs in the
processing of a FOIA request; it does not
include overhead factors such as space, it does
include:
(1) Pages means paper copies of standard
office size or the dollar-value equivalent in
other media;
(2) Reproduction means generation of a
copy of a requested record in a form
appropriate for release;
(3) Review means all time expended in
examining a record to determine whether any
portion must be withheld pursuant to law and
in effecting any required deletions, but
excludes personnel hours expended in
resolving general legal or policy issues; it also
means personnel hours of professional time;
(4) Search means all time expended in
looking for and retrieving material that may be
responsive to a request utilizing available
paper and electronic indices and finding aids; it
also means personnel hours of professional
time or the dollar-value equivalent in computer
searches;
(f) Expression of interest means a written
communication submitted by a member of the
public requesting information on or concerning
No. 115 / Monday, June ]6, 1N
Rules and Regulations
or successor in office, or such official who has
been delegated release or declassification
authority pursuant to law;
(1) Potential requester means a person,
organization, or other entity who submits an
expression of interest;
(m) Reasonably described records means
a description of a document (record) by unique
identification number or descriptive terms
which permit an Agency employee to locate
documents with reasonable effort given
existing indices and finding aids;
(n) Records or agency records means all
documents, irrespective of physical or
electronic form, made or received by the CIA
in pursuance of federal law or in connection
with the transaction of public business and
appropriate for preservation by the CIA as
evidence of the organization, functions,
policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or
other activities of the CIA or because of the
informational value of the data contained
therein; it does not include:
(1) Books, newspapers, magazines,
journals, magnetic or printed transcripts of
electronic broadcasts, or similar public sector
materials acquired generally and/or maintained
for library or reference purposes; to the extent
that such materials are incorporated into any
form of analysis or otherwise distributed or
published by the Agency, they are fully subject
to the disclosure provisions of the FOIA;
(2) Index, filing, or museum documents
made or acquired and preserved solely for
reference, indexing. filing. or exhibition
purposes; and
(3) Routing and transmittal sheets and
notes and filing or destruction notes which do
not also include information, comment, or
statements of substance;
(o) Responsive records means those
documents (i.e., records) which the Agency
has determined to be within the scope of a
FOIA request.
?1900.13 Fees for Record Services
(a) In general. Search, review, and
reproduction fees will be charged in
accordance with the provisions below relating
to schedule, limitations, and category of
requester. Applicable fees will be due even if
our search locates no responsive records or if
some or all of the responsive records must be
denied under one or more of the exemptions of
the Freedom of Information Act.
(b) Fee waiver requests. Records will be
furnished without charge or at a reduced rate
whenever the Agency determines:
(1) That, as a matter of administrative
discretion, the interest of the United States
Government would be served, or
(2) That it is in the public interest because
it is likely to contribute significantly to the
public understanding of the operations or
activities of the United States Government and
the FOIA program and/or the availability of
documents from the CIA;
(g) Federal agency means any executive
department, military department, or other
establishment or entity included in the
definition of agency in 5 U.S.C 552(f);
(h) Fees means those direct costs which
may be assessed a requester considering the
categories established by the FOIA; requesters
should submit information to assist the Agency
in determining the proper fee category and the
Agency may draw reasonable inferences from
the identity and activities of the requester in
making such determinations; the fee categories
include:
(1) Commercial means a request in which
the disclosure sought is primarily in the
commercial interest of the requester and which
furthers such commercial, trade, income, or
profit interests;
(2) Non-commercial educational or
scientific institution means a request from an
accredited United States educational institution
at any academic level or institution engaged in
research concerning the social, biological, or
physical sciences or an instructor or researcher
or member of such institutions; it also means
that the information will be used in a specific
scholarly or analytical work, will contribute to
the advancement of public knowledge, and will
be disseminated to the general public;
(3) Representative of the news media
means a request from an individual actively
gathering news for an entity that is organized
and operated to publish and broadcast news to
the American public and pursuant to their news
dissemination function and not their
commercial interests; the term news means
information which concerns current events,
would be of current interest to the general
public, would enhance the public
understanding of the operations or activities of
the U.S. Government, and is in fact
disseminated to a significant element of the
public at minimal cost; freelance journalists
are included in this definition if they can
demonstrate a solid basis for expecting
publication through such an organization, even
though not actually employed by it; a
publication contract or prior publication record
is relevant to such status;
(4) All other means a request from an
individual not within paragraph (h)(1), (2), or
(3) of this section;
(i) Freedom of Information Act or "FOIA"
means the statutes as codified at 5 U.S.C 552;
(j) Interested party means any official in
the executive, military, congressional, or
judicial branches of government, United States
or foreign, or U.S. Government contractor
who, in the sole discretion of the CIA, has a
subject matter or physical interest in the
documents or information at issue;
(k) Originator means the U.S. Government
official who originated the document at issue
 Feoefal Register / Vol. 62, Nj" / Monday, June 16, 1997 / FI Regulations 32483 - 32484
is not primarily in the commercial interest of
the requester; the Agency shall consider the
following factors when making this
determination:
(i) Whether the subject of the request
concerns the operations or activities of the
United States Government; and, if so,
(ii) Whether the disclosure of the
requested documents is likely to contribute to
an understanding of United States Government
operations or activities; and, if so,
(iii) Whether the disclosure of the
requested documents will contribute to public
understanding of United States Government
operations or activities; and, if so,
(iv) Whether the disclosure of the
requested documents is likely to contribute
significantly to public understanding of United
States Government operations and activities;
and
that the requester may not pay the fees which
would be accrued by processing the request.
The Agency will hold in abeyance for forty-
five (45) days those requests where deposits
have been requested.
(g) Schedule offees - 1) In general. The
schedule of fees for services performed in
responding to requests for records is
established as follows:
to this part at the NTIS price as authorized by
statute.
(v) Whether the requester has a
commercial interest that would be furthered by
the requested disclosure; and, if so,
(vi) Whether the disclosure is primarily in
the commercial interest of the requester.
(c) Fee waiver appeals. Denials of
requests for fee waivers or reductions may be
appealed to the Chair of the Agency Release
Panel via the Coordinator. A requester is
encouraged to provide any explanation or
argument as to how his or her request satisfies
the statutory requirement set forth above.
(d) Time for fee waiver requests and
appeals. It is suggested that such requests and
appeals be made and resolved prior to the
initiation of processing and the incurring of
costs. However, fee waiver requests will be
accepted at any time prior to the release of
documents or the completion of a case, and fee
waiver appeals within forty-five (45) days of
our initial decision subject to the following
condition: If processing has been initiated,
then the requester must agree to be responsible
for costs in the event of an adverse
administrative or judicial decision.
(e) Agreement to pay fees. In order to
protect requesters from large and/or
unanticipated charges, the Agency will request
specific commitment when it estimates that
fees will exceed $100.00. The Agency will
hold in abeyance for forty-five (45) days
requests requiring such agreement and will
thereafter deem the request closed. This
action, of course, would not prevent an
individual from refiling his or her FOIA
request with a fee commitment at a subsequent
date.
(f) Deposits. The Agency may require an
advance deposit of up to 100 percent of the
estimated fees when fees may exceed $250.00
and the requester has no history of payment, or
when, for fees of any amount, there is evidence
Clerical/Technical
Quarter
$5.00
hour
Professional
Quarter
10.00
/Supervisory
hour
Manager/Senior
Quarter
18.00
Professional
hour
Search (on-line)
Flat rate
10.00
Search (off-line)
Flat rate
30.00
Other activity
Per minute
10.00
Tapes (mainframe
cassette)
Each
9.00
Tapes (mainframe
cartridge)
Each
9.00
Tapes (mainframe
reel)
Each
20.00
Tapes (PC 9mm)
Each
25.00
Diskette (3.5")
Each
4.00
CD (bulk recorded)
Each
10.00
CD (recordable)
Each
20.00
Telecommunications
Per minute
.50
Paper (mainframe
printer)
Per page
.10
Paper (PC b/w laser
printer)
Per Page
.10
Paper PC color
printer
Per page
1.00
Photocopy (standard
Per page
.10
or legal)
Microfiche
Per frame
.20
Pre-printed
Per 100
5.00
(if available)
pages
Published
Per item
NTIS
(if available)
. (2) Application of schedule. Personnel
search time includes time expended in either
manual paper records searches, indices
searches, review of computer search results for
relevance, personal computer system searches,
and various reproduction services. In any
event where the actual cost to the Agency of a
particular item is less than the above schedule
(e.g., a large production or run of a document
resulted in a cost of less than $5.00 per
hundred pages), then the actual lesser cost will
be charged. Items published and available at
the National Technical Information Service
(NTIS) are also available from CIA pursuant
(3) Other services. For all other types of
output, production, or reproduction (e g.,
photographs, maps, or published reports),
actual cost or amounts authorized by statute.
Determinations of actual cost shall include the
commercial cost of the media, the personnel
time expended in making the item to be
released, and an allocated cost of the
equipment used in making the item, or, if the
production is effected by a commercial service,
then that charge shall be deemed the actual
cost for purposes of this part.
(h) Limitations on collection offees. --
(1) In general. No fees will be charged if the
cost of collecting the fee is equal to or greater
than the fee itself. That cost includes the
administrative costs to the Agency of billing,
receiving, recording, and processing the fee for
deposit to the Treasury Department and, as of
the date of these regulations, is deemed to be
$10.00.
(2) Requests for personal information. No
fees will be charged for requesters seeking
records about themselves under the FOIA;
such requests are processed in accordance with
both the FOIA and the Privacy Act in order to
ensure the maximum disclosure without
charge.
(i) Fee categories. There are four
categories of FOIA requesters for fee
purposes: "Commercial use" requesters,
"educational and non-commercial scientific
institution" requesters, "representatives of the
news media" requesters, and "all other"
requesters. The categories are defined in
? 1900.02, and applicable fees, which are the
same in two of the categories, will be assessed
as follows:
(I) "Commercial use " requesters:
Charges which recover the full direct costs of
searching for, reviewing, and duplicating
responsive records (if any);
(2) "Educational and non-commercial
scientific institution" requesters as well as
"representatives of the news media"
requesters: Only charges for reproduction
beyond the first 100 pages;
(3) "All other" requesters: Charges which
recover the full direct cost of searching for and
reproducing responsive records (if any) beyond
the first 100 pages of reproduction and the first
two (2) hours of search time, which will be
furnished without charge.
(j) Associated requests. A requester or
associated requesters may not file a series of
multiple requests, which are merely discrete
subdivisions of the information actually sought
for the purpose of avoiding or reducing
applicable fees. In such instances, the Agency
may aggregate the requests and charge the
applicable fees.
 G O L D B E R G
S COT T
B E L F I E L D
STEIN B E R G
5 C O H E N
October 29, 1999
VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL
Kathryn I. Dyer
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
Re: Request For Records Under Freedom of Information Act
Reference No. F-1999-01980
Dear Ms. Dyer:
I am in receipt of your letter dated October 13, 1999 regarding the above-referenced Freedom
of Information Act ("FOIA") request.
In your letter, you state that the Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA") has denied Mr.
Rautenberg's request for a fee waiver based on' its determination that "disclosure of the requested
documents will not contribute significantly to the.public understanding of U.S. Government
operations or activities." Based on this determination, you request that I provide clarification as to
the purpose the requested records will be put in order to determine the appropriate fee category for
the request.
Please be advised that I dispute the CIA's determination that this request will not contribute
significantly to the public understanding of U.S. Government operations or activities. Mr.
Rautenberg seeks these records to assist him in his plans to write a book about his experiences
relating to the subject matter of the requests. This topic is of significant interest to the public and
reveals important information,relating to the U.S. Government's Cold War operations. As such, this
request clearly falls within the scope of those requests for which a fee waiver is justified. Thus, I
strongly suggest that the CIA reconsider its prior determination without the necessity of a fee waiver
appeal.
However, notwithstanding the above, and in an effort to enable Mr. Rautenberg to best assess
the options available to him, I would like to obtain an estimate of the total amount of fees that the
CIA anticipates it will charge for satisfying the request within ten (10) days from the receipt of this
letter. Based on my review of the applicable regulations, the fee category that appears to be most
appropriate in this regard is "all other."
1925 CENTURY PARK EAST SUITE 2200 Los ANGELES, CA 90067
TEL [phone] FAx [phone]
 GOLDBERG, SCOTT, BELFIELD, STEINBERG & COHEN
A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
Kathryn I. Dyer
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
October 29, 1999
Page 2 of 2
By requesting an estimate of fees that may be charged by the CIA, Mr. Rautenberg does not
waive his right to appeal the CIA's denial of his request for a fee waiver or reduction. as provided
for in 32 CFR ?1900.13 (c) or any other rights or remedies he may possess, all of which are
expressly reserved.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation and prompt attention to this matter. I look
forward to hearing from you.
Very truly yours,
GOLDBERG, SCOTT, BELFIELD,
STEINBERG & COHEN
A Professional Law Corporation
RAYMOND B. KIM
 GOLDBERG, SCOTT, BELFIUD, STEINBERG & COHEN
A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
Kathryn I. Dyer
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
October 29, 1999
Page 3 of 2
bcc: Matthew S. Steinberg, Esq.
Erwin Rautenberg