Case Document 1-4 Filed 09/20/19 Page 1 of 3 EXHIBIT Case 1:19-cv-02823 Document 1-4 Filed 09/20/19 Page 2 of 3 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy Sixth Floor 441 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Telephone: (202) 514-3642 September 13, 2019 Deana K. El-Mallawany Protect Democracy Project, Inc 15 Main Street Ste. 312 Watertown, MA deana.elmallawany@protectdemocracy.org Re: DOJ-2019-006773 DRH:VAV:GMG Dear M. Deana K Mallawany: This is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received in this Office on September 3, 319, in which you requested specified records between the Department and the White House pertaining to former Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, dating from March 16, 2018. You have requested expedited processing of your request pursuant to the Department’s standard permitting expedition for requests involving “[a]n urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged federal government activity, if made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information.” See 28 C.F.R. § 16.5(e)(1)(ii) (2018). Based on the information you have provided, I have determined that your request for expedited processing under this standard should be denied. This Office cannot identify a particular urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged federal government activity beyond the public’s right to know about government activities generally. You have also requested expedited processing of your request pursuant to the Department’s standard involving “[a] matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence.” See 28 C.F.R. § 16.5(e)(1)(iv) (2018). Pursuant to Department policy, we directed your request to the Director of Public Affairs, who makes the decision whether to grant or deny expedited processing under this standard. See id. § 16.5(e)(2). Please be advised the Director has determined that your request for expedited processing should be denied. Although your request for expedited processing has been denied; it has been assigned to an analyst in this Office and our processing of it has been initiated. To the extent that your request requires a search in another Office, consultations with other Department components or another agency, and/or involves a voluminous amount of material, your request falls within “unusual circumstances.” See 5 U.S.C. 552 § (a)(6)(B)(i)(iii) (2012 & Supp. V 2017). Accordingly, we will need to extend the time limit to respond to your request beyond the ten additional days provided by the statute. For your information, we use multiple tracks to process requests, but within those tracks we work in an agile manner, and the time needed to complete our work on your request will necessarily depend on a variety Case 1:19-cv-02823 Document 1-4 Filed 09/20/19 Page 3 of 3 -2of factors, including the complexity of our records search, the volume and complexity of any material located, and the order of receipt of your request. At this time we have assigned your request to the complex track. In an effort to speed up our process, you may wish to narrow the scope of your request to limit the number of potentially responsive records so that it can be placed in a different processing track. You can also agree to an alternative time frame for processing, should records be located, or you may wish to await the completion of our records search to discuss either of these options. Any decision with regard to the application of fees will be made only after we determine whether fees will be implicated for this request. If you have any questions or wish to discuss reformulation or an alternative time frame for the processing of your request, you may contact the analyst handing your request, Georgianna Gilbeaux, by telephone at the above number or you may write to them at the above address. You may also contact our FOIA Public Liaison, Valeree Villanueva, for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request at: Office of Information Policy, United States Department of Justice, Sixth Floor, 441 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001; telephone at 202-514-3642. 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. If you are not satisfied with my response to this request for expedited processing, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy, United States Department of Justice, Sixth Floor, 441 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001, or you may submit an appeal through OIP’s FOIAonline portal at https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/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, Douglas R. Hibbard Chief, Initial Request Staff