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
Case No. 200303827
Segment SA001
DEC 21 2004
Mr. Amrit Singh
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004-2400
Dear Mr. Singh:
I refer to our previous correspondence regarding the release
of certain Department of State material you had requested
under the Freedom of Information Act (Title 5 USC Section
552) in your letters of October 7, 2003 and May 25, 2004.
The search of the records of the Bureau of South Asian
Affairs has now been completed, resulting in the retrieval
of 269 documents that are responsive to your request. We
have grouped those documents as Segment SA001.
After reviewing the documents of Segment SA001, we have
determined that 34 may be released in full, 10 may be
released with excisions, and 151 must be withheld in full.
The released documents are enclosed. A decision on 22
documents requires interagency coordination; we will notify
you of the results of that coordination when it has been
completed. Fifty-two documents originated with other
government agencies and have been referred to those agencies
for review and direct reply to you.
Material in the excised portions of four of the documents
released in part and in 85 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.
DOS-002163
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Material in four of the documents withheld in full is
specifically exempted from disclosure by statute, to wit,
the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (Title 50 USC
Section 403g). As such, it is exempt from release under
subsection (b)(3) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Information in 137 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
privilege, attorney client privilege, attorney work product
privilege, and/or another privilege incorporated by
subsection (b)(5).
Material in the excised portions of five of the documents
released in part and in 56 of the documents withheld in full
is of such a nature that its release would constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. As such,
it is exempt from release under subsection (b)(6) of the
Freedom of Information Act.
Material in the excised portions of four of the documents
released in part and in 71 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 the excised portions of six of the documents
released in part and in 77 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.
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The search in the other files has been completed, and we
will let you know as the review of the various segments has
been accomplished.
Sincerely,
r
Margaret P. Grifeld
Director
Office of Information Programs
and Services
Enclosures:
As stated.
DOS-002165