U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy Suite 11050 1425 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Telephone: (202) 514-3642 March 20, 2017 Mr. Austin R. Evers American Oversight 1030 15th Street NW Suite B255 Washington, DC 20005 foia@americanoversight.org Re: DOJ-2017-002997 (PAO) VRB:DRH:KJK Dear Mr. Evers: This responds to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received in this Office on March 16, 2017, for (1) records pertaining to correspondence from Alexander Acosta to U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott and (2) records relating to a 2007 press statement issued by Mr. Acosta regarding the letter to Judge Dlott. This response is made on behalf of the Office of Public Affairs. Please be advised that a search has been conducted of the records indices for retired files of the administration of former Attorneys General John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, and Michael Mukasey, and no records responsive to your request were located. The indices list file folder titles, arranged according to subject, for the records of former Department of Justice staff. To the extent that Mr. Acosta served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the time of his letter to Judge Dlott and as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time of his press statement, you may want to direct your request to the Civil Rights Division (CRT) and the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), respectively, as those Department components may maintain records of interest to you. Contact information for CRT and EOUSA can be found on www.foia.gov. For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c) (2012). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at the telephone number listed above for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of 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 -2information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. If you are not satisfied with my response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy, United States Department of Justice, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001, or you may submit an appeal through OIP’s FOIAonline portal at https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/ action/public/home. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically submitted within ninety days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” Sincerely, Vanessa R. Brinkmann Senior Counsel US. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Freedom of Information/Prime}: Acts Branch - BICN 95 0 Penmlvania Ave. NW l7-00217?F Washington, DC20530 July 24, 2017 Austin R. Evcrs Executive Director American Oversight 1030 15th Street, NW, Suite B-255 Washington, DC 20005 Dear Mr. Evers: This is in further response to your March 16, 2017 Freedom of Information Act request seeking access to: 1. All records relating to the preparation of and the decision to send the 2004 letter from Mr. Acosta to US. District Judge Susan Dlott arguing that it would undermine the enforcement of state and federal election laws if individual citizens could not challenge voters? credentials, including any approval memorandum related to the letter; recommendations and analysis related to the arguments contained in the letter and the decision to send the letter; any clearance with DOJ leadership regarding the letter; any communications with the Of?ce of Public Affairs regarding the letter, including preparation of messaging; and any communications with the media related to the letter. (See attached letter.) 2. All records relating to a 2007 press statement issued by Mr. Acosta regarding the letter to Judge Dlott. (See attached article citing statement.)1. All FOLA requests made to or any of its components related to Mr. Acosta. The Civil Rights Division has conducted a thorough search of Mr. Acosta?s ?les and has been unable to locate any records related to items number one or two above. Please don?t hesitate to contact wiser-nee by eating 202?5 14-4210 if you have any matter. dom of Information/Privacy Acts Branch Civil Rights Division U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for United States Attorneys Freedom of Information Act & Privacy Act Staff Bicentennial Building 600 E Street, NW, Suite 7300 Washington, DC 20530 (202) 252-6020 (202) 252-6047 Fax September 6, 2018 Austin R. Evers American Oversight 1030 15th Street, NW Suite B255 RE: EOUSA-2017-000751 SUBJECT: Other/Mr. Acosta/Judge Dlott Dear Austin Evers, In response to your Freedom of Information Act and/or Privacy Act request, the paragraph(s) checked below apply: 1. [x] A search for records located in the United States Attorney's Office(s) for the Southern District of Florida has revealed no responsive records regarding the above subject. This is the final action on this above-numbered request. If you are not satisfied with my response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001, or you may submit an appeal through OIP's FOIAonline portal by creating an account on the following web site: https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/public/home. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within ninety (90) days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal." You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at the telephone number listed above for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of 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, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. Sincerely, Kevin Krebs Assistant Director Form No. 005 - 12/15 VERSIGHT