CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE and 9 other new FOIA lawsuits

We have added 50 documents from 9 FOIA cases filed between May 26, 2019 and June 1, 2019. Note that there can be delays between the date a case is filed and when it shows up on PACER. If there are filings from this period that have yet to be posted on PACER, this FOIA Project list may not be complete.

Click on a case title below to view details for that case, including links to the associated docket and complaint documents.

1. CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed May 28, 2019)
   Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted a FOIA request to the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department for records concerning the office’s views given to Attorney General William Barr as to whether the evidence developed by the Special Counsel is sufficient to establish that President Trump obstructed justice. CREW also requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. OLC informed CREW that its request for expedited processing had been denied and that it would be unable to respond within 20 days. CREW then filed suit.
   Issues: Expedited processing, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
2. Friends of Animals v. Perdue et al (filed May 28, 2019)
   Friends of Animals submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Forest Service for records concerning a December 2017 intergovernmental agreement between the Arizona Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and eventually provided two interim responses. Friends of Animals contacted the agency several times to check the status of its request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Friends of Animals filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Public Interest Fee Waiver
3. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER v. UNITED STATES HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed May 28, 2019)
   The Human Right Defense Center, previously Prison Legal News, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning past and current contracts between the agency and the Vera Institute of Justice. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, HRDC filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
4. GARZA VARGAS v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed May 28, 2019)
   Francisco Garza Vargas, a Mexican citizen, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for records concerning the agency’s decision to revoke his tourist visa. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency then disclosed 20 documents in full and 10 in part and told Garza Vargas that a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act prohibited the agency from disclosing anything beyond what a visa applicant had provided themselves. Garza Vargas filed an administrative appeal. The agency acknowledged receipt of the appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Garza Vargas filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
5. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES et al (filed May 28, 2019)
   The Human Rights Defense Center submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for records concerning memoranda of understanding between the agency and Vera Institute of Justice regarding the latter’s work with immigrants and refugees. HRDC also requested a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, HRDC filed suit.
   Issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
6. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed May 28, 2019)
   The Human Rights Defense Center submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Marshals Service for records concerning deaths of prisoners while in the custody of the Marshals Service. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency disclosed 193 pages with redactions under Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records) and Exemption 7(F) (harm to any person) for information identifying Deputy Marshals and other law enforcement officers. HRDC filed an administrative appeal. The agency acknowledged receipt of the appeal, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, HRDC filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
7. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed May 28, 2019)
   The Human Rights Defense Center submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Marshals Service for records concerning all claims filed against the agency for amounts of $1,000 or more. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and asked HRDC to narrow the scope of its request. After hearing nothing further from the agency, HRDC filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees, Litigation – Vaughn index
8. AMERICAN OVERSIGHT v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (filed May 29, 2019)
   American Oversight submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Health and Human Services for records concerning calendars and calendar entries for Shannon Royce, director of the HHS Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives. After hearing nothing further from the agency, AO filed suit.
   Issues: Adequacy – Search, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees
9. BAKAJ v. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (filed May 29, 2019)
   Andrew Bakaj, a former employee of the CIA Inspector General’s Office who lost his job because of retaliation for whistleblower activity pertaining to the CIA Inspector General, submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Homeland Security for an investigation conducted by the DHS IG into allegations of misconduct by the CIA IG. Bakaj also requested expedited processing. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Bakaj filed suit.
   Issues: Expedited processing, Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Litigation – Attorney’s fees

In addition, we have added 1 document from 1 case, with an earlier filing date, that has recently appeared on PACER.

• DELGROSSO v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed May 24, 2019)