Initial Request

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005581623
• Release Decision: IPPUB U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: June 24, 2015
• Document Release Date: February 18, 2011
• Case Number: F-2011-00088
• Publication Date: September 8, 2010

Date Sep 8, 2010 21:48 GMT
To 17036133007
From Jason Smathers
Dear FOIA Officer:
I hereby submit the following request under the Freedom of Information Act.
*Records Requested*
I request a copy of all FOIA requests including all corresponding internal
and external communication, investigative records, and any other resulting
record where a FOIA request was sent to your agency. Please limit
responsive records to those where the request aroused the suspicion of the
person or agency who received that FOIA request. Finally, limit the
responsive records to those where the FOIA request was provided to
an investigator or investigative agency (or they were consulted), not for
response, but for investigation into the person requesting the records to
determine if the request was for criminal purposes. Additionally, please
provide any policy documents or internal communication describing when a
FOIA request should be referred to an investigator or an investigative
agency.
I am a member of the News Media as defined in 22CFR171.11(o) and request to
be billed according to the news media fee category. I do authorize up to
$30 in fees if this request is denied or fees are incurred further than the
exemption allows. I do retain the right to appeal any denial of this
request.
(o) Representative of the news media means any person actively gathering
news for an entity that is organized and operated to publish or broadcast
news to the public.
I write for and am gathering news for Witnesses Unto Me, a publication whic
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distributes among other writing, news.
The term news means information that is about current events or that would
be of current interest to the public,
My experience in journalism allows me judge the current interest of a topic
to the public, I make this request with knowledge and belief the topic is
of current interest to the public.
APPROVED FOR RELEASED
DATE: 02-08-2011
 at large and publishers of periodicals (but only in those instances when
they can qualify as disseminators of "news") who make their products
available for purchase by the general public.
Witnesses Unto Me disseminates many types of writing, including news. For
an example of a recent news article, see =93City of Dearborn limits free
speech around Arab Festival=94 written by myself and published June 22, 201
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by Witnesses Unto Me. Witnesses Unto Me is available to the general public
and is not limited to any subset of the public.
Freelance journalists may be regarded as working for a news organization if
they can demonstrate, such as by past publication, a likelihood of
publication through a representative of the news media, even though
not actually employed by it.
My articles are frequently published by both Witnesses Unto Me and SBC
Voices, the two publications for which I write. I am assured of publicatio
n
as the publisher of Witnesses Unto Me and a regular columnist with SBC
Voices.
I am requesting a fee waiver as a person primarily engaged in
disseminating information requesting information about alleged government
activity and I answer the following six questions to help adjudicate my
request for a fee waiver. I have a proven ability to take raw facts,
understand them, and create a unique work from them then distribute the,
information to the general public. This can be verified by reviewing my
past articles.
1. The subject matter of the requested records must specifically concern
identifiable operations of activities of the government. Request for record
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for their informational content alone does not satisfy this factor.
This request specifically concerns handling ofFOIA requests, an
identifiable operation of the government.*
2. The disclosure of the requested records must be "likely to contribute" t
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the public understanding of government operations. The requested records
most be meaningfully informative in relation to the subject matter of the
request and should not already be in public domain.
*The information requested is not currently available to the public to the
best of my knowledge. Releasing these records will contribute to the publi
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understanding of how FOIA requests are processed and how suspicious request
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are handled.*
3. The disclosure of requested records must contribute to "public
understanding of government operations." Disclosure must contribute to the
understanding of the public at large, as opposed to the understanding of th
e
requester or a narrow segment of interested persons. One must demonstrate
with reasonable specificity the ability to understand, extract and convey
the requested information as well as the ability and intent to actively
disseminate the information to the general public.
*Open government is a concern for every American. The results of this
request will contribute to the public understanding of the government's
handling of FOIA requests.*
4. The disclosure must contribute "significantly" to public understanding o
f
govennment operations or activities. On balance, the public's understanding
of government operations must be significantly greater after disclosure in
comparison to the public's understanding prior to disclosure.
*'f here. is currently no understanding in the public about how suspicious FOI
A
requests are handled. This request will significantly contribute to the
public's understanding in this area. *
5. The extent to which disclosure will serve the requester's commercial
interest, if any. Status as a nonprofit organization or representative of
the news media is not alone sufficient to satisfy this requirement.
6. The extent to which the identified public interest in the disclosure
outweighs the requester's commercial interest.
*I have absolutely no commercial interest in this request, whereas there is
a great identified public interest in disclosure. *
You can deliver the documents to me in any of the folio
order of preference, most desirable first
Email electronic copy:
Mail CD Rom or DVD:
 Electronic format is preferred. I only request paper copies if my out of
pocket expense is reduced by sending paper copies, in which case consider
this a request for paper copies. In all other situations, electronic files
are preferred. Email is the preferred method of sending electronic files,
but web download is another acceptable alternative. Files on CD or DUD in
the mail are also acceptable, but doing so adds expensive and time which I
hope to avoid.
If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all
deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act. I will also expec
t
you to release all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material. I, of
course, reserve the right to appeal your decision to withhold any
information or to deny a fee benefit.
I declare, certify, verify or state, under penalty of perjury under the law
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of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and
connect. Executed on September 8, 2010.
Signed,
Jason Smathers!
Jason Smathers