Letter from Margaret P. Grafeld, DOS to Amrit Singh, ACLU re: the ACLU's FOIA Request. 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
JUN ,18 2005
Case No. 200303827 L19
Ms. Amrit Singh
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
18th
125 Broad Street, Floor
New York, NY 10004-2400
Dear Ms. Singh:
I refer to our letter dated December 13, 2004, regarding the
release of certain Department of State material under the
Freedom of Information Act (Title 5 USC Section 552) .
As you may recall, further coordination was required before a decision could be made as to the release of three of the documents previously retrieved in response to your request. The coordination has now been completed for all three of them and we find that one may be released with excisions and two
may not be released. The released document is enclosed.
The material in the excised portions of the document released in part and in one 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.
The material in the excised portions of the document released in part 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.
The material in the excised portions of the document released in part 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 the two documents withheld in full is exempt from release under subsection (b) (5) of the Freedom of
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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) .
The material in the excised portions of the document released in part 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.
Sincerely,
Margaret P. Grafeld
Director
Office of Information Programs
and Services
Enclosures: As stated.
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