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This March 7, 2024 letter from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General answers John Greenewald's FOIA request for all records David Charles Grusch submitted to the DoD Inspector General. It says searches found responsive records. However, 25 pages were withheld in full under FOIA exemptions (b)(3), (b)(5), (b)(6), (b)(7)(C) and (b)(7)(E). Other documents were withheld under exemption (b)(7)(A) because they were compiled for a law enforcement inquiry that is still open. The letter also explains how to appeal.
2 March 7, 2024 Ref: DODOIG-2024-000205 • (b)(6), which protects information that would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; • (b)(7)(C), which pertains to records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, the release of which could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; and • (b)(7)(E), which pertains to records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, the release of which would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions. Our review included consideration of the foreseeable harm standard, as stated in DoDM 5400.07. Under this standard, the content of a particular record should be reviewed and a determination made as to whether the DoD Component reasonably foresees that disclosing it, given its age, content, and character, would harm an interest protected by an applicable exemption. In addition, please be advised that certain documents that may be responsive to your request are compiled for a law enforcement inquiry and release, at this time, could reasonably be expected to interfere with the inquiry. As such, 5 U.S.C. § 552 exemption (b)(7)(A) of the FOIA provides for withholding records or information compiled under these circumstances, as law enforcement inquiries are not limited to criminal actions but include civil actions and regulatory proceedings as well. For this reason, we cannot release certain responsive documents at this time. Once the inquiry is complete however, exemption (b)(7)(A) may no longer apply, and you may re-submit your request. Please note that, even after the inquiry is completed, responsive records may still be exempt from disclosure based on one or more FOIA exemptions. If you consider this an adverse determination, you may submit an appeal. Your appeal, if any, must be postmarked within 90 days of the date of this letter, clearly identify the determination that you would like to appeal, and reference to the FOIA case number above. Send your appeal via mail to the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, ATTN: FOIA Appellate Authority, Suite 10B24, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22350-1500, via email to foiaappeals@dodig.mil, or via facsimile to 571-372-7498. However, please note that FOIA appeals can only examine adverse determinations concerning the FOIA process. For more information on appellate matters and administrative appeal procedures, please refer to 32 C.F.R. Sec. 286.9(e) and 286.11(a). You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at FOIAPublicLiaison@dodig.mil, or by calling 703-604-9785, for any further assistance with your request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, MD 20740- 6001, email at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or
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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 4 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.