Department of Energy
Washington, DC 20585

F�9 ! � 2019
Cerissa Cafasso
American Oversight
1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite B255
Washington, D.C. 20005
Via email: foia@americanoversight.org
Re: HQ-2019-00197-F
Dear Mr. Evers:
This is the final response to the request for information that you sent to the Department of
Energy (DOE) under the Freedom oflnformation Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. You requested:
1. All records reflecting communications (including but not limited to emails, email
attachments, voicemail transcripts, text messages, messages on messaging
platforms (such as Slack, GChat or Google Hangouts, Lyne, Skype, WhatsApp,
Signal, Facebook or Twitter Direct Messages), telephone call logs, calendar
invitations/entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational material,
talking points, any handwritten or electronic notes taken during any oral
communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials)
between (a) any political appointees at your agency and (b) any person in th�
Office of the White House, including any person whose email address ends in
@who.eop.gov, discussing, concerning, or related to Ivanka Trump (or
alternatively styled "Ivanka Kushner") and her use of non-governmental email,
including any email address ending in @ijkfamily.org.
2. All records reflecting communications (including but not limited to emails, email
attachments, voicemail transcripts, text messages, messages on messaging
platforms (such as Slack, GChat or Google Hangouts, Lyne, Skype, WhatsApp,
Signal, Facebook or Twitter Direct Messages), telephone call logs, calendar
invitations/entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational material,
talking points, any handwritten or electronic notes taken during any oral
communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials)
between (a) any political appointees at your agency and (b) any person in the
Office of the White House, including any person whose email address ends in
@who.eop.gov, discussing, concerning, or related to Ivanka Trump (or
alternatively styled "Ivanka Kushner") and FOIA.
3. All records reflecting communications (including but not limited to emails, email
attachments, voicemail transcripts, text messages, messages on messaging
platforms (such as Slack, GChat or Google Hangouts, Lyne, Skype, WhatsApp,

I

pVERSIGHT

 Signal, Facebook or Twitter Direct Messages), telephone call logs, calendar
invitations/entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational material,
talking points, any handwritten or electronic notes taken during any oral
communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials)
between any political appointees at your agency and any nongovernmental
email address attributed to Ivanka Trump (or alternatively styled ?Ivanka
Kushner?), including but not limited to any email address ending in
@ijkfamily.org.

. All records re?ecting communications (including but not limited to emails, email
attachments, voicemail transcripts, text messages, messages on messaging
platforms (such as Slack, GChat or Google Hangouts, Lync, Skype, WhatsApp,
Signal, Facebook or Twitter Direct Messages), telephone call logs, calendar
invitations/entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational material,
talking points, any handwritten or electronic notes taken during any oral
communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials) of
any political appointees at your agency discussing, concerning, or related to
Ivanka Trump (or alternatively styled ?Ivanka Kushner?), FOIA, and the law ?rm
WilmerHale. This request includes communications directly with the law ?rm
WilmerHale.

. All records re?ecting communications (including but not limited to emails, email
attachments, voicemail transcripts, text messages, messages on messaging
platforms (such as Slack, GChat or Google Hangouts, Lync, Skype, WhatsApp,
Signal, Facebook or Twitter Direct Messages), telephone call logs, calendar
invitations/entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational material,
talking points, any handwritten or electronic notes taken during any oral
communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials) of
any political appointees at your agency discussing, concerning, or related to
Ivanka Trump (or alternatively styled ?Ivanka Kushner?), FOIA, and the law ?rm
Norton Rose Fulbright. This request includes communications directly with the
law ?rm Norton Rose Fulbright.

. All records re?ecting communications (including but not limited to emails, email
attachments, voicemail transcripts, text messages, messages on messaging
platforms (such as Slack, GChat or Google Hangouts, Lync, Skype, WhatsApp,
Signal, Facebook or Twitter Direct Messages), telephone call logs, calendar
invitations/entries, meeting notices, meeting agendas, informational material,
talking points, any handwritten or electronic notes taken during any oral
communications, summaries of any oral communications, or other materials) of
any political appointees at your agency discussing, concerning, or related to
Ivanka Trump (or alternatively styled ?Ivanka Kushner?), FOIA, and the law
?rm Winston Strawn.

Please provide all responsive records ?'om the immediate Of?ce of the
Secretary, the Of?ce of the Deputy Secretary, and the Of?ce of the General

Counsel (or your agency?s equivalent of each) from January 20, 2017, to the date
the search is conducted.

Your request was assigned to Of?ce of the Executive Secretariat (ES) and the Of?ce of
General Counsel (GC). DOE started its search on January 17, 2019, which is the cut-off date for
responsive documents. DOE completed its search but did not locate any documents responsive
to your request.

Therefore, pursuant to Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) I am unable to
provide any responsive documents for ES or GC. Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. I am
responsible for the determination that no responsive records exist in those of?ces.

The adequacy of the search may be appealed within 90 calendar days from your receipt of this
letter pursuant to 10 C.F.R. 1004.8. Appeals should be addressed to Director, Of?ce of
Hearings and Appeals, L?Enfant Plaza, US Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 205 85-1615. The written appeal, including the envelope, must
clearly indicate that a FOIA appeal is being made. You may also submit your appeal by e-mail
to gov, including the phrase ?Freedom of Information Appeal? in the
subject line. (This is the method preferred by the Of?ce of Hearings and Appeals.) The appeal
must contain all the elements required by 10 C.F.R. 1004.8, including a copy of the
determination letter. Thereafter, judicial review will be available to you in the Federal District
Court either (1) in the district where you reside, (2) where you have your principal place of
business, (3) where records are situated, or (4) in the District of Columbia.

You may contact FOIA Public Liaison, Alexander Morris, FOIA Of?cer, Of?ce of
Public Information, at 202-586-5955, or by mail at MA-46 Forrestal Building, 1000
Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20585, for any further assistance and to discuss
any aspect of your request. 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:
Of?ce of Government Information 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.

The FOIA provides for the assessment of fees for the processing of requests. See 5 U.S.C. 
see also 10 C.F.R. In our November 28, 2018, letter you were
informed your request was placed in the ?other? category for fee purposes. Requesters in this
category are entitled to two free hours of search time and are provided 100 pages at no cost. In
that same letter, you were informed that your request for a fee waiver was granted. Thus, no fees
will be charged for processing your request.

If you have any questions about the processing of the request or this letter, you may contact Ms.
Stephanie Ostrowski or me at:

MA-46/Forrestal Building

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC. 20585

(202) 586-1355

I appreciate the opportunity to assist you with this matter.

 

FOIA Of?cer
Of?ce of Public Information