Letter from Margaret P. Grafeld, DOS to Amrit Singh, ACLU re: the ACLU's FOIA Request. The letter states that the document production requested is being complied with in some parts and denied or withheld in part.
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520 www.state.gov
Case No. 200303827
Segment L039
Mr. Amrit Singh
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
1235 Broad Street, 18 th Floor New York, NY 10004-2400
Dear Mr. Singh:
I refer to our previous correspondence regarding the release
of certain Department of State material under the Freedom of
Information Act (Title 5 USC Section 552) in your letters of
October 7, 2003, and May 25, 2004.
We have retrieved 102 additional documents from the Office
of the Legal Adviser that appear responsive to your request,
and have grouped them as Segment L039. After reviewing
these documents, we have determined that three may be
released in full, four may be released with excisions, and
69 must be withheld in full. All released material is
enclosed. Twenty-six documents originated with another
government agency and have been referred to that agency for
review and direct reply to you.
Material in 36 of the documents withheld in full is
currently and properly classified under Executive Order
12958 in the interest of national defense or foreign
relations. As such, it is exempt from release under
subsection (b)(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Material in one of the documents withheld in full is related
solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an
agency. As such, it is exempt from release under subsection
(b)(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Information in the four documents released in part and in 64
of the documents withheld in full is exempt from release
under subsection (b)(5) of the Freedom of Information Act
because it is protected by the deliberative process
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privilege, attorney client privilege, attorney work product
privilege, and/or another privilege incorporated by
subsection (b)(5).
Material in three of the documents released in part and in
28 of the documents withheld in full is information compiled
for law enforcement purposes which, if produced, could
reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement
proceedings. As such, it is exempt from release under
subsection (b)(7)(A) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Material in 14 of the documents withheld in full is
information compiled for law enforcement purposes which, if
produced, could reasonably be expected to constitute an
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. As such, it is
exempt from release under subsection (b)(7)(C) of the
Freedom of Information Act.
In some cases, two or more exemptions apply to the same
document. In the case of a document released in part, all
non-exempt material that is reasonably segregable from the
exempt material has been released.
The search of the other files has been completed, and we
will let you know as the review of the various segments has
been accomplished.
Sincerely,
(4y
Margaret P. Grafeld
Director
Office of Information Programs
and Services
Enclosures:
As stated.
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