The following brief was field on behalf of Truth PAC :
November 2, 2016
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Record/Information Dissemination Section
Attn: FOIPA Request
170 Marcel Drive
Winchester, VA 22602-4843
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request
Dear Freedom of Information Officer:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, we hereby request that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) produce the following within twenty (20) business days:
Any and all records that relate to the relationship between Donald J. Trump, advisers and agents of Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign committee, and agents and officers of the Government of the Russian Federation.
The timeframe for this request is September 1, 2014 to November 1, 2016.
We call your attention to President Obama’s January 21, 2009 Memorandum concerning the Freedom of Information Act, which 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.
If any responsive record or portion thereof is claimed to be exempt from production under FOIA, please provide sufficient identifying information with respect to each allegedly exempt record or portion thereof to allow us to assess the propriety of the claimed exception. In addition, any reasonably segregable portion of the responsive record must be provided, after redaction of any allegedly exempt material.
For purposes of this request, the term “record” shall mean: (1) any written, printed, or typed material of any kind, including without limitation, all correspondence, memoranda, notes, messages, faxes, papers, telephone messages, transcriptions or memoranda memorializing telephone and/or in-person conversations, reports, charts, lists, ledgers, invoices, agreements; (2) any electronically, magnetically, or mechanically stored material of any kind, including all electronic mail or e-mail, telephony metadata, and electronic metadata; (3) any audio, aural, visual, or video records, recordings, or representations of any kind; and (4) any materials created through other means of preserving thought or expression.
We hereby request a waiver of both search and duplication fees pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). Under this provision, records:
Shall be furnished without any charge or at a charge reduced below the fees established under clause (ii) if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
We are also entitled to a complete waiver of search and duplication fees, if records are not produced within twenty (20) business days, pursuant to Section 6(b) of the OPEN Government Act of 2007.
We have no commercial purpose in seeking these records. The sole purpose of this request is to educate and inform the public about the relationship between a candidate running for public office and his associates and agents, and the agents and officers of a foreign power that has indicated through its actions an interest in interfering with the long-cherished norms of sovereign control over self-government and the peaceful transition of power. Once we obtain the requested records, we intend to disseminate the records and educate the public about the results.
Given these circumstances, we are entitled to a public interest fee waiver of search and duplication costs. In the event our request for a waiver is denied, we are willing to pay up to [INSERT] in search and/or duplication costs.
In order to facilitate record production within the statutory time limit, we are willing to accept records in electronic formation (e.g., email or pdfs), and on a “rolling” basis, as documents are ready to be produced. Paper or hard-copy materials can be sent to the following mailing address:
[INSERT].
If you do not understand this request, or if you require clarification, please contact us immediately at [PHONE] or [EMAIL]. We look forward to receiving the requested records and a waiver of search and duplication costs within twenty (20) business days. Thank you for your cooperation and prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,