CREW
I
itizens for responsibilityand ethics
in
washington
July 15,2011By Email:FOIA@fcc.gov and facsimile (202-418-0521)
FederalCommunications Commissions445
l2
1h
Street, S.W.Room 1-A836Washington,D.
C.
20554Re:Freedom
of
InformationActRequestDearSir/Madam:
Citizens forResponsibilityand Ethicsin Washington(CREW)makes this requestfor
records,regardless
of
format,medium,orphysical characteristics,andincludingelectronic
recordsandinformation, pursuant to theFreedom
ofinformation
Act, (FOIA),5 U.S.C.§ 552,
and FederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC)FOIARegulations, 47 C.F.R.
§§
0.441,
et seq.
Specifically,
CREW
seeksanyand allrecordsfromJanuary
1,
2006,tothepresent
referencing or pertaining to News Corpand/orRupertMurdoch. Thisrequest includes, but isnot
limited to,records
of
communicationsfrom anyone acting
on
behalf
orin furtherance
of
NewsCorp and/orRupert Murdoch, including but not limited to any members
of
Congress or theirstaff.Pleasesearchfor records regardless
of
format, medium,orphysicalcharacteristics. We
seek records
of
anykind, includingelectronicrecords,audiotapes,videotapes,photographs,and
back-up tapes.
Our
request includes any telephone messages,voicemail messages, dailyagenda
and calendars,informationabout scheduledmeetingsand/or discussions,whetherin-personor
overthe telephone,agendas forthose meetings and/or discussions,participants included in those
meetings and/
or
discussions,minutes
of
any suchmeetings and/or discussions,e-mailor
facsimilessent as aresult
of
those meetingsand/ordiscussions, and transcriptsandnotes
of
anysuchmeetingsand/or discussions to theextentthey relatetothe aforementioned requested
information.
If
it isyouposition thatanyportion
of
the requested recordsis exempt fromdisclosure,
CREWrequests thatyouprovide an index
of
those documentsasrequired by
Vaughn v.Rosen,
484F.2d820(D.C.Cir. 1973),
cert.denied,
415U.S.977 (1972).As youareaware,a
Vaughn
index must describeeachdocument claimedas exempt withsufficientspecificity"topermita
reasoned
judgment
asto whetherthematerial is actuallyexemptunder FOIA."
FoundingChurch
of
Scientology
v.
Bell,
603 F.2d 945,959 (D.C.Cir.1979).Moreover,the
Vaughn
indexmust"describeeachdocument or portion thereofwithheld,andfor
each
withholdingit must
1400
Eye
Street,
N.W.,
Suite
450
,
Washington
,
D.C.
20005
I
202.408.5565
phone
I
202.588.
5020
fax
I
www.citizensforethics.org
·~,
FOIA OfficerJuly 15,2011Page Twodiscuss the consequences
of
supplying the sought-after-information."
King
v.
US. Dep
't
of
Justice,
830 F.2d 210, 223-24 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (emphasis added). Further, "the withholdingagency must supply
'a
relatively detailed justification, specifically identifying the reasons why apmiicular exemption is relevant and correlating those claims with the particular part
of
awithheld document to which they apply."'
!d.
at 224, citing
Mead Data Central
v.
US. Dep
't
of
the Air Force,
566 F.2d. 242, 251 (D.C. Cir. 1977).In the event some portions
of
the requested records are properly exempt from disclosure,please disclose any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions in accordance with 5 U.S.C. §552(b
.
If
it is your position that a document contains non-exempt segments that are so dispersedthroughout the document as to make segregation impossible, please state what portion
of
thedocument is non-exempt and
how
the material is dispersed throughout the documents.
MeadData Central,
566 F.2d at 261. Claims ofnon-segregability must be made with the same degree
of
detail as required for claims
of
exemption in a
Vaughn
index.
If
a request is denied in whole,please state specifically that it is not reasonable to segregate portions
of
the record for release.
CREW
welcomes the opportunity to discuss with you whether and the extent to whichthis request can be narrowed or modified to better enable the FCC to process it within the FOIA'sdeadlines.
Public Interest Fee Waiver Request
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii) and 47 C.F.R. § 0.470(e)(l),
CREW
requests a waiver
of
fees associated with processing this request for records. The subject
of
thisrequest concerns the operations
of
the federal government and the disclosures likely willcontribute to a better understanding
of
relevant government procedures by
CREW
and thegeneral public in a significant way. Moreover, the request primarily and fundamentally is fornon-commercial purposes. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii).
See, e.g., McClellan Ecological
v.
Carlucci,
835 F.2d 1282, 1285
(9th
Cir. 1987).Specifically the requested records will inform the public about the extent to which RupertMurdoch and
News
Corp., and individuals
or
entities acting on their behalf, have attempted toinfluence the manner in which the FCC exercises its authority over any entity
of
Mr. Murdoch'ssubject to the
FCC's
jurisdiction. Mr. Murdoch and News Corps are dominating the public'sattention
now
because
of
their scurrilous journalistic practices, including hacking into voice mailmessages. Recent news reports suggest these practices may have extended to the voice mailmessages
of
certain 911 victims, a matter that would appear to fall within the jurisdiction
of
theFCC. The extent
of
any existing relationship the FCC has with Mr. Murdoch and News Corps
as
well as any efforts
by
Mr. Murdoch to influence the
FCC's
exercise
of
its statutory authoritycertainly would be relevant to and shed light
on
this issue.
FOIA OfficerJuly
15,
2011
Page ThreeCREW is a non-profit corporation organized under section 501(c)(3)
of
the InternalRevenue Code. CREW is committed
to
transparency in government and protecting the citizen'sright
to
be aware
of
the activities
of
government officials and to ensuring the integrity
of
thoseofficials. CREW uses a combination
of
research, litigation, and advocacy
to
advance its mission.The release
of
information garnered through this request is not in
CREW's
financial interest.CREW will analyze the information responsive to this request, and will share its analysis withthe public, either through memoranda, reports, or press releases. In addition, CREW willdisseminate any documents it acquires from this request
to
the public through its website,www.citizensforethics.org., which also includes links
to
thousands
of
pages
of
documentsCREW has acquired through its multiple FOIA requests
as
well as documents related
to
CREW'slitigation and agency complaints, and through
W\VW.scribd.com.
CREW has a demonstratedhistory
of
publicly disseminating the precise kind
of
information sought here.Under these circumstances, CREW satisfies fully the criteria for a fee waiver.
News Media Fee Waiver Request
CREW also asks that it not be charged search or review fees for this request becauseCREW qualifies as a "representatives
of
the news media" pursuant to the FOIA, 5 U.S.C.
§
FOIA552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II) and 47 C.F.R.
§
0.470(a)(2). In
Nat'! Sec. Archive
v.
US. Dep
't
of
Defense,
880 F.2d 1381, 1386 (D.C. Cir. 1989), the U.S. Court
of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found theNational Security Archive was a representative
of
the news media under the FOIA.
As
the courtreasoned, the FOIA's legislative history indicates the phrase "representative
of
the news media"is
to
be interpreted broadly
"ifthe
act is work
as
expected
...
In fact,
any person or organizationwhich regularly publishes or disseminates information
to
the public
...
should qual{jj; forwaivers as a 'representative
ofthe
news media.'"
Jd.,
citing 132 Cong. Rec. S14298 (daily ed.Sept. 30, 1986) (emphasis in original).CREW routinely and systematically disseminates information to the public in severalways. First, CREW maintains a frequently visited website, www.citizensforethics.org, thatreceived 53,861 page views in June 2011. In addition, CREW posts all
of
the documents itreceives under the FOIA on www.scribd.com, and that site has received 1,039,994 visits
to
CREW's documents since April14, 2010.Second, since May 2007, CREW has published an online newsletter,
CREWCut'>,
thatcunently has 15,735 subscribers.
CREWCuts
provides subscribers with regular updatesregarding CREW's activities and information the organization has received from governmententities. A complete archives
of
past
CREWCuts
is available athttp://WVvw.citizensforethics.org/newsletter.Third, CREW publishes a blog,
Citizens bloggingfor responsibility
and
ethics
in
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FOIA Request - CREW: Federal Communications Commission: Regarding Influence Over FCC Regulation of News Corp.: 7/15/2011 - FOIA Request
On July 15, 2011, CREW sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the Federal Communications Commission seeking documents that would shed light on the extent to which members of Congress and others acting on behalf…
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