2016-01-05 PL Declaration (Flores v DOJ) (FOIA) (File 13 of 15) (Ex V- Z) (Stamped)
2015-08-26 Plaintiff's Initial Letter to Defendant Regarding DOJ FOIA Response
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Transcript of 2015-08-26 Plaintiff's Initial Letter to Defendant Regarding DOJ FOIA Response
Louis Flores 3421 77th Street, No. 406 Jackson Heights, New York 11372 [email protected] 1 (646) 400-‐1168 26 August 2015
[By e-mail only : [email protected]] Rukhsanah L. Singh, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office -‐ Eastern District of New York, 271 Cadman Plaza East, 7th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Dear Ms. Singh :
Re : Louis Flores v. United States Department of Justice No. 15-CV-2627 (JG) (RLM)
On Monday evening, I received the DOJ’s response to my FOIA Request. I am still reviewing the documents. However, at first blush, it should be apparent, even to you, that the documents produced by the DOJ are not the documents I requested. I’m trying to figure out the DOJ’s rationale for producing these records, which appear to only be a portion of the pleading file from the government’s vindictive prosecution case against Lt. Daniel Choi. For example, on page 26 of the Government’s Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandamus to United Stated District Court, there is a reference to the Government Exhibit at Tab J. Where is Tab J ? Meanwhile, where are the rest of the exhibits ? Did the DOJ produce at its discretion only some of the pleadings filed in the government’s case against Lt. Choi ? What was the standard used to produce some pleadings, but not all ? I have to seriously question whether the DOJ’s decision to produce only some of the pleadings wasn’t just an effort at creating a red herring, whereby I now have to chase for missing exhibits or annexes referenced in these documents, but lose my focus on going after the documents and records that were identified in the FOIA Request. This is just more indication of the DOJ acting in bad faith. Furthermore, it seems inexplicable that the DOJ would invoke privacy as a reason to deny the release of records pertaining to Lt. Choi (if any of the records being sought from the DOJ in the FOIA Request should happen to be specific to Lt. Choi). For example, Lt. Choi was not an employee of the DOJ. I am not seeking employment records, healthcare records, financial or credit rating reports, or other records that one would consider to be
Rukhsanah L. Singh, Assistant U.S. Attorney U.S. Attorney’s Office -‐ Eastern District of New York 26 August 2015 Page 2 private, unless the DOJ has collected such records about Lt. Choi but cannot disclose them due to Lt. Choi’s privacy rights. Can you describe the privacy-‐encumbered records and produce an index of the descriptions ? Finally, I find it difficult to believe that no records were found responsive to the FOIA Request. Is there a reason that the cover letter stated that the DOJ appeared to have limited the search to only the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia ? What was the process used by which the search for responsive records was conducted ? As indicated to you in prior correspondence, I plan to request discovery in this case at our Initial Conference with U.S. Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann. All these open questions, and any others created by the DOJ’s response and non-‐response to the FOIA Request, are an invitation to conduct discovery. I may make other requests to U.S. Magistrate Judge Mann, as well. To follow-‐up on our telephone conference of 31 July 2015, if you plan to apply to cancel the Initial Conference, I will oppose your application, because I believe we must have an initial meeting with U.S. Magistrate Judge Mann. As stated, I am still reviewing the documents, so I don’t have a complete impression of the random records that the DOJ has produced. Let me know if you have time on Friday afternoon to schedule a telephone conference, so that we may speak more about the DOJ’s response to the FOIA Request. Thank you kindly.
Yours sincerely,
Louis Flores