US. Department of Justice
Office of Information Policy
Suns 11050

1425 York Avenue. NW
DE 205307000!

 

 

Telephone: (202) 514-3642
September 7, 2017

Mr. Ryan Reilly
The Huftin ton Post

Re: (AG)
VRB 

 

Dear Mr. Reilly:

This responds to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted via the
Office of Information Policy's FOIAonline Portal and received in this Office on July 24, 2017,
for any alleged letter of resignation authored by Attorney General Jeff Sessions or any
letter to President Donald Trump written by or on behalf of Attorney General Sessions since
February 9. 2017. This response is made on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.

With respect to pan (1) of your request. please be advised that have decided to refuse
to confirm or deny the existence of such a record pursuant to Exemption 5 of the FOIA,
5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6). Even to acknowledge the existence of an alleged letter of resignation
could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

With respect to pan (2) of your request. please be advised that a search has been
conducted in the electronic database of the Departmental Executive Secretariat, which is the
official records repository for the Office of the Attorney General, and two letters, totaling six
pages. responsive to your request were located. I have determined that this material is
appropriate for release without excision and copies are enclosed. Pursuant to your
conversation with Eiic Hotchkiss of this Office on August 2, 2017, we have not considered
letters regarding nominations to be responsive to your request.

For your information. Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement
and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 552(c) (2015)
(amended 2015). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements
of the FOIA. Th 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 Ptiblic Liaison, laurie Day. for any further as stance and
to discuss any aspect of your request at: Office of Information Policy. United States
Department ofJustice, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW. Washington, DC 205307
0001: telephone at 20275143542; or facsimile at 20251471009.

-2Additionally, 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, Room 2510, 8601
Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at
202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; 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
Enclosures