U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Information Policy
Suite 11050
1425 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Telephone: (202) 514-3642

January 28, 2019
Mr. Austin Evers
American Oversight
1030 15th Street NW, Suite B255
Washington, DC 20005
foia@americanoversight.org

Re:

DOJ-2019-001268 (AG)
VRB:VAV:ERH

Dear Mr. Evers:
This responds to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated
December 5, 2018 and received in this Office on December 6, 2018, in which you requested
any order or directive appointing Matthew Whitaker to the position of Acting Attorney
General. This response is made on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
Please be advised that a search has been conducted in the Office of the Attorney
General, as well as of the electronic database of the Departmental Executive Secretariat,
which is the official records repository for the Office of the Attorney General, and one page
was located that is responsive to your request. I have determined that this material is
appropriate for release without excision, and a copy is enclosed.
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 (2012
& Supp. V 2017). 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, Douglas Hibbard, 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
20530-0001; 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.gov/foiaonline/

 -2action/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
Enclosure

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THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON

November

8,

2018

FOR MATTHEWGEORGE WHITAKER
MEMORANDUM
Department
Chief of Staff,

of

Justice

States,
and the laws of the United
to the Constitution
Pursuant
Code, you
States
5, United
of title
3345(a)
section
including
the office
of
duties
and
the functions
to perform
are directed
by
is filled
the position
until
General,
of Attorney
designation.
or subsequent
appointment

AMER CAN

PVERSIGHT

DOJ-18-0945-A-000001