U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, 0.0. 20535 March 31, 2016 MR. DEREK MITCH MUCKROCK DEPT MR 23597 411A HIGHLAND AVENUE SOMERVILLE, MA 02144-2516 FOIPA Request No.2 1344917-000 Subject: Linchpin Labs (FBI Contracts with Linchpin Labs) Dear Mr. Mitch: This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Please be advised that upon reviewing the substantive nature of your request, we can neither con?rm nor deny the existence of records responsive to your request pursuant to FOIA exemption (7) (E) [5 The mere acknowledgment of whether or not the FBI has any such records in and of itself would disclose techniques, procedures, and/or guidelines that could reasonably be expected to risk of circumvention of the law. Thus, the FBI neither con?rms nor denies the existence of any records. For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. _Se_e 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 noti?cation that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. For questions regarding our determinations. visit the website under ?Contact Us." The FOIPA Request number listed above has been assigned to your request. Please use this number in all correspondence concerning your request. Your patience is appreciated. You may ?le an 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 OlP's FOIAoniine portal by creating an account on the following web site: Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within sixty (60) days from the date of this letter in order to be considered timely. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked ?Freedom of Information Act Appeal." Please cite the FOIPA Request Number assigned to your request so that it may be easily identi?ed. Enclosed for your information is a copy of the FBI Fact Sheet and Explanation of Exemptions. Sincerely, David M. Hardy Section Chief, Record/Information Dissemination Section Records Management Division Enclosures FBI FACT SHEET The primary functions of the FBI are national security and law enforcement. The FBI does not keep a file on every citizen of the United States. The FBI was not established until 1908 and we have very few records prior to the 19205. FBI files generally contain reports of FBI investigations of a wide range of matters, including counterterrorism, counter-intelligence, cyber crime, public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, white collar crime, major thefts, violent crime, and applicants. The FBI does not issue clearances or non?clearances for anyone other than its own personnel or persons having access to FBI facilities. Background investigations for security clearances are conducted by many different Government agencies. Persons who received a clearance while in the military or employed with some other government agency should contact that entity. Most government agencies have websites which are accessible on the internet which have their contact information. A criminal history summary check or ?rap sheet? is NOT the same as an file.? It is a listing of information taken from fingerprint cards and related documents submitted to the FBI in connection with arrests, federal employment, naturalization or military service. The subject of a ?rap sheet" may obtain a copy by submitting a written request to FBI, Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, Record Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306. Along with a specific written request, the individual must submit a new full set of his/her fingerprints in order to locate the record, establish positive identification, and ensure that an individual?s records are not disseminated to an unauthorized person. The fingerprint submission must include the subject?s name, date and place of birth. There is a required fee of $18 for this service, which must be submitted by money order or certified check made payable to the Treasury of the United States. A credit card payment option is also available. Forms for this option and additional directions may be obtained by accessing the FBI Web site at The National Name Check Program (NNCP) conducts a search of the Universal Index (UNI) to identify any information contained in FBI records that may be associated with an individual and provides the results of that search to a requesting federal, state or local agency. Names are searched in a multitude of combinations and phonetic spellings to ensure all records are located. The NNCP also searches for both ?main? and ?cross reference? files. A main file is an entry that carries the name corresponding to the subject of a file, while a cross reference is merely a mention of an individual contained in a file. The results from a search of this magnitude can result in several ?hits? and ?idents? on an individual. In each instance where UNI has identified a name variation or reference, information must be reviewed to determine if it is applicable to the individual in question. The Dissemination Section (RIDS) searches for records and provides copies of FBI files responsive to Freedom of Information or Privacy Act (FOIPA) requests for information. RIDS provides responsive documents to requesters seeking ?reasonably described information." For a FOIPA search, the subject's name, event, activity, or business is searched to determine whether there is an associated investigative file. This is called a ?main file search" and differs from the NNCP search. FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FBI, VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT 1/6/14 1) (M6) (M09 1) (10(2) (10(3) (10(4) (10(5) (10(6) (10(7) EXPLANATION OF EXEMPTIONS SUBSECTIONS OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 552 (A) speci?cally authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact properly classi?ed to such Executive order; related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency; speci?cally exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b ofthis title). provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld; trade secrets and commercial or ?nancial information obtained from a person and privileged or con?dential; inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with i the agency; personnel and medical ?les and similar ?les the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes. but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information A could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication. could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of con?dential source. including a State. local. or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a con?dential basis. and. in the case of record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation. or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a con?dential source. would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law. or could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual; contained in or related to examination, operating. or condition reports prepared by, on behalf ofagency responsible for the regulation or supervision of ?nancial institutions; or geological and geophysical information and data. including maps, concerning wells. SUBSECTIONS OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 552a information compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action proceeding; material reporting investigative efforts pertaining to the enforcement of criminal law including efforts to prevent, control. or reduce crime or apprehend criminals; information which is currently and properly classified pursuant to an Executive order in the interest of the national defense or foreign policy. for example, information involving intelligence sources or methods; investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes. other than criminal, which did not result in loss of a right. bene?t or privilege under Federal programs. or which would identify a source who furnished information pursuant to a promise that his/her identity would be held in con?dence: material maintained in connection with providing protective services to the President of the United States or any other individual pursuant to the authority of Title 18. United States Code, Section 3056; required by statute to be maintained and used solely as statistical records; investigatory material compiled solely for the purpose of determining suitability, eligibility, or quali?cations for Federal civilian employment or for access to classi?ed information, the disclosure of which would reveal the identity of the person who furnished information pursuant to a promise that his/her identity would be held in con?dence; testing or examination material used to determine individual quali?cations for appointment or promotion in Federal Government service he release of which would compromise the testing or examination process; material used to determine potential for promotion in the armed services. the disclosure of which would reveal the identity of the person who furnished the material pursuant to a promise that his/her identity would be held in con?dence.