U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy Suite 11050 1425 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Telephone: (202) 514-3642 October 4, 2017 Mr. Austin R. Evers Executive Director American Oversight 1030 15th Street, NW, Suite B-255 Washington, DC 20005 Re: Ms. Kristen Clarke President and Executive Director Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law DOJ-2017-006368 (AG) DOJ-2017-006802 (DAG) DOJ-2017-006804 (ASG) VRB:DRH Dear Mr. Evers and Ms. Clarke: This responds to your Freedom of Information Act request dated August 30, 2017, in which you requested records related to any Department of Justice or Department of Education investigation of admissions policies, practices, procedures, or criteria at Harvard University or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This response is made on behalf of the Offices of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and Associate Attorney General. Regarding your request for records pertaining to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and as you were advised by the Civil Rights Division (CRT) by letter dated September 29, 2017, a search had been conducted in CRT, and no records responsive to this portion of your request were located. Accordingly, given the nature of your request, no records would be maintained in the Offices of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and Associate Attorney General, as CRT would be the Department component most likely to maintain such records. Please be advised that the records you have requested related to investigations of admissions policies are exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A), which pertains to records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes the release of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings. Additionally, certain information within these records is also exempt pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), which pertains to certain inter- and intra-agency communications protected by the deliberative process and attorney work-product privileges. 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) (2006 & Supp. IV 2010). 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. DOJ-17-0349-B-000001 -2- You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison, Laurie Day, for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request at: Office of Information Policy, United States Department of Justice, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 205300001; telephone at 202-514-3642; or facsimile at 202-514-1009. 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, 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 transmitted 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 DOJ-17-0349-B-000002 US. Department ofJustice Civil Rights Division Freedom offnformarion/Privacy A (:13 Branch - BICN 17-00425-F 950 Ave. NW Washington, DC 20530 September 29, 2017 Austin R. Evers Executive Director American Oversight 1030 15th Street, NW, Suite 13?255 Washington, DC 20005 Kristen Clarke President and Executive Director Lawyers? Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Dear Mr. Evers and Ms. Clarke: This is in further response to your Freedom of Information Act request dated August 30, 2017, in which you requested records related to any Department of Justice or Department of Education investigation of admissions policies, practices, procedures, or criteria at Harvard University or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Regarding your request for records pertaining to the University of North Carolina, the Division has conducted a thorough search and I have determined that there are no records that are responsive to this portion of your request. Please be advised that records you have requested related to investigations of admissions policies are exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. which concerns records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes the release of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings. Additionally, certain information within these records is also exempt pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(5), which concerns certain inter- and intra?agency communications protected by the deliberative process privilege and the attorney work?product privilege. You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison, April Freeman, for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request at: 950 Avenue, NW Washington, DC. 20530 Ph: (202) 514-4210 Email: April.Freeman@usdoi .gov Additionally, you may contact the Of?ce 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 -2- Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi 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 satis?ed with the Civil Rights Division?s determination in response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Of?ce 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 FOIA online portal by creating an account on the following website: action/public/home . Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 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." Sincerely, Nelson D. Hermil a, Chief Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Branch Civil Rights Division