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Case TitleLEOPOLD et al v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION et al
DistrictDistrict of Columbia
CityWashington, DC
Case Number1:2022cv03012
Date Filed2022-10-05
Date ClosedOpen
JudgeJudge Jia M. Cobb
PlaintiffJASON LEOPOLD
PlaintiffBLOOMBERG L.P.
Case DescriptionJournalist Jason Leopold submitted FOIA requests to the FBI, the Department of Justice, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He submitted a request to the FBI for records concerning threats received by agents because of their participation in the search for presidential records at Mar-a-Lago. He asked for expedited processing which the FBI granted. He submitted a FOIA request to DOJ for records concerning threat assessments as the result of the search of Mar-a-Lago. He asked for expedited processing, which was granted. Leopold submitted another FOIA request to the National Security Division at DOJ for records concerning discussions with NARA pertaining to the Mar-a-Lago search. He asked for expedited processing for that request, which was granted. He submitted a FOIA request to NARA asking for any communications to NARA from Trump designating Kash Patel and/or journalist John Solomon as his representatives for access to presidential records. Leopold asked for expedited processing, which was granted. Leopold submitted a FOIA request to ONDI for records concerning risk assessments of the potential damage to national security from unsecured classified records at Mar-a-Lago. Leopold asked for expedited processing which was granted. After hearing nothing further from the agencies concerning any of his requests, Leopold filed suit.
Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees

DefendantFEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
DefendantU.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DefendantNATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
DefendantOFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Documents
Docket
Complaint
Complaint attachment 1
Complaint attachment 2
Complaint attachment 3
User-contributed Documents
 
Docket Events (Hide)
Date FiledDoc #Docket Text

2022-10-051COMPLAINT against FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ADCDC-9578864) filed by JASON LEOPOLD, BLOOMBERG L.P.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1-12, # 2 Summons, # 3 Civil Cover Sheet)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 10/05/2022)
2022-10-052SEALED DOCUMENT filed by JASON LEOPOLD re 1 Complaint, (This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.)(Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 10/05/2022)
2022-10-053LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by BLOOMBERG L.P. (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 10/05/2022)
2022-10-054NOTICE of Appearance by Matthew Topic on behalf of BLOOMBERG L.P., JASON LEOPOLD (Topic, Matthew) (Entered: 10/05/2022)
2022-10-055NOTICE of Appearance by Joshua Loevy on behalf of BLOOMBERG L.P., JASON LEOPOLD (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 10/05/2022)
2022-10-06Case Assigned to Judge Jia M. Cobb. (znmg) (Entered: 10/06/2022)
2022-10-066SUMMONS (6) Issued Electronically as to All Defendants, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachment: # 1 Notice and Consent)(znmg) (Entered: 10/06/2022)
2022-11-107NOTICE of Appearance by Julia Alexandra Heiman on behalf of All Defendants (Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 11/10/2022)
2022-11-108Unopposed MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer re 1 Complaint, Nunc Pro Tunc by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 11/10/2022)
2022-11-109ANSWER to Complaint by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.(Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 11/10/2022)
2022-11-14MINUTE ORDER re 8 Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Answer: Upon consideration of Defendants' Motion, the Court ORDERS that the Motion is hereby GRANTED. Defendants' Answer is due by November 10, 2022. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on November 14, 2022. (lcjmc1) (Entered: 11/14/2022)
2022-11-14MINUTE ORDER: The Court ORDERS that the Parties confer and submit a joint proposed schedule for further proceedings, which shall include a proposed schedule for the processing and release of responsive records or for briefing dispositive motions, by November 28, 2022. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on November 14, 2022. (lcjmc1) (Entered: 11/14/2022)
2022-11-2810RESPONSE re Set Scheduling Order Deadlines, Joint Response to the Court's November 14, 2022 Minute Order filed by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 11/28/2022)
2022-12-0811RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE served on 10/20/2022 (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 12/08/2022)
2022-12-0812RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION served on 10/20/2022 (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 12/08/2022)
2022-12-0813RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION served on 10/18/2022 (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 12/08/2022)
2022-12-0814RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE served on 10/20/2022 (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 12/08/2022)
2022-12-0815RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed on United States Attorney General. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney General 10/20/2022. (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 12/08/2022)
2022-12-0816RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 10/6/2022. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 11/5/2022. (Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 12/08/2022)
2022-12-12MINUTE ORDER re 10 Response re Set Scheduling Order Deadlines: From the Parties' filing, the Court understands that the Plaintiffs believe the requested documents warrant expedited processing (an assertion that the Defendants do not dispute) and that the Defendants ask for additional time to file a proposed scheduling order. The Court finds that review and production should begin as soon as possible because of the exigent circumstances, but also hopes the Parties can reach an agreement that will result in the most efficient processing of this information in the long-term. To that end, the Court ORDERS the Defendants to process at least 500 pages in the next 45 days and produce any responsive documents, and also ORDERS the Parties to submit another Joint Status Report by January 12, 2023, which shall include a proposed scheduling order for the processing of documents for the duration of this case. The proposed scheduling order may seek processing to occur at a rate greater than 500 pages per month. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on December 12, 2022. (lcjmc1) (Entered: 12/12/2022)
2023-01-1217Joint STATUS REPORT by BLOOMBERG L.P., JASON LEOPOLD. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order Plaintiffs' Proposed Order, # 2 Text of Proposed Order Defendants' Proposed Order)(Loevy, Joshua) (Entered: 01/12/2023)
2023-01-18MINUTE ORDER: The Court has read the Parties' Joint Status Report that was filed on January 12, 2023, and understands that the Parties agree for the most part about the schedule for processing the requested documents. But a few issues require resolution. First, the Court ORDERS the Parties to submit a Joint Status Report by January 27, 2023, to provide the updates that were noted in the January 12 Status Report. Second, with regards to the FBI's processing rate, the Court ORDERS the FBI to process records at a rate of 750 pages per month because the FOIA statute requires agencies to process expedited requests as soon as practicable. 5 § U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(E)(iii). The FBI can renew its objection to this processing rate in any future status report by showing specifically what makes it impracticable. Finally, the Court will wait until the Parties provide a Status Report on January 27, 2023, to resolve the processing schedule for documents requested from ODNI. The Court would like to have as much information before it to make that determination, and Plaintiff has not shown that waiting two weeks would cause an undue hardship. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on January 18, 2023. (lcjmc1) (Entered: 01/18/2023)
2023-01-1818SCHEDULING ORDER: See Order for details. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on January 18, 2023. (lcjmc1) (Entered: 01/18/2023)
2023-01-2719Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 01/27/2023)
2023-02-03MINUTE ORDER re 19 Joint Status Report: The Court ORDERS Defendants to provide final responses from the National Security Division (NSD) by April 27, 2023, and from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by March 28, 2023, except for any consults or referrals still outstanding at that time. The Parties may update the Court as to which consults and referrals are still outstanding in their next Joint Status Report. Signed by Judge Jia M. Cobb on February 3, 2023. (lcjmc1) (Entered: 02/03/2023)
2023-02-2120NOTICE of Appearance by Merrick Jason Wayne on behalf of BLOOMBERG L.P., JASON LEOPOLD (Wayne, Merrick) (Entered: 02/21/2023)
2023-02-22RESOLVED...NOTICE of Provisional/Government Not Certified Status re NOTICE of Appearance by Merrick Jason Wayne on behalf of BUZZFEED INC., JASON LEOPOLD (Wayne, Merrick), Your attorney renewal/government certification has not been received. As a result, your membership with the U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia is not in good standing, and you are not permitted to file. Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 83.9, you must immediately correct your membership status by following the appropriate instructions on this page of our website: https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/attorney-renewal. Please be advised that the presiding judge in this case has been notified that you are currently not in good standing to file in this court. Renewal Due by 3/1/2023. (zbaj) Modified on 2/23/2023 (znmw). Modified on 3/2/2023 (zbaj). (Entered: 02/22/2023)
2023-04-2721Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 04/27/2023)
2023-07-2622Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 07/26/2023)
2023-10-2423Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 10/24/2023)
2024-01-2224Joint STATUS REPORT by FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. (Heiman, Julia) (Entered: 01/22/2024)
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