U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Legal Counsel
Washington, D. C. 20530

August 3, 2018
Jason Leopold
Senior Investigative Reporter
BuzzFeed News
j asonleopold@gmail.com
Re:

FOIA Tracking No. FYlS-163

Dear Mr. Leopold:
This letter partially responds to your July 16, 2018 Freedom oflnformation Act ("FOIA")
request to the Office of Legal Counsel ("OLC"), seeking "correspondence sent by the Assistant
Attorney General in charge of [OLC] and his or her primary deputy to Brett M. Kavanaugh and
all correspondence sent by Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of
[OLC] and his or her primary deputy from January 20, 2001, to May 30, 2006."
As of this date, we have processed 404 pages of responsive records. We have enclosed
230 pages with redactions and withheld the remaining 174 pages in full. Our redactions are
based on FOIA Exemption Five, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b )(5), or FOIA Exemption Six, 5 U.S.C.
§ 552(b)(6). The full withholdings are based on Exemption Five. For your information,
Exemption Five exempts material protected by the attorney-client, deliberative process, and
presidential communications privileges, as well as the attorney work product doctrine and other
privileges. Exemption Six exempts material the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. We have determined that none of the withheld
material is appropriate for discretionary release. We are continuing to process responsive
records.
For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories oflaw enforcement
and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c). 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.
For any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request, you may contact
Melissa Golden, OLC's FOIA Public Liaison, at usdoj-officeoflegalcounsel@usdoj.gov, (202)
514-2053, or at Office of Legal Counsel, United States Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania
Ave., N.W., Room 5511, Washington, DC 20530.
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 202-7415770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
You have the right to an administrative appeal. 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 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,

Paul P. Colborn
Special Counsel

Enclosures

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