U.S.

Department of Justice
Executive Office for United States Attorneys
Freedom of Information & Privacy Staff
600 E Street, N.W.
Suite 7300, Bicentennial Building
Washington, DC 20530-0001
(202) 252-6020
FAX: 252-6047
(www.usdoj.gov/usao)

August 15, 2016

Louis Flores
Progress Queens, Inc.
34-21 77th Street
No. 406
Jackson Heights, New York 11372
Re: Request Number: FOIA-2016-02319
Date of Receipt: April 25, 2016
Subject of Request: Speeches made by USA Preet Bharara/Southern District of New York
Dear Mr. Flores:
Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request dated April 25, 2016
and received in our office on April 25, 2016.
In your letter, you requested a fee waiver if applicable. Federal regulation 28 CFR
16.10(k) sets forth the requirements for a waiver or reduction of fees. After carefully considering
your FOIA request in the context of 28 CFR 16.10(k), I have determined that your request does
not meet the requirements for the reasons listed below.
In order to qualify for a waiver or reduction of fees, your request must demonstrate that the
disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly
to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in
the commercial interest of the requester. See 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). In determining
whether you have satisfied this statutory standard, the six factors set forth in 28 CFR 16.10(k) are
to be considered. See 28 C.F.R. 16.10(k). The first four of these factors concern the public
interest requirement; the fifth and sixth factors concern whether your interest in the records is
primarily commercial.
Failure to satisfy any one of the public interest requirements results in the denial of either
a reduction of fees or a complete waiver of fees, and it dispenses with the need to consider whether
your interest in the records is primarily commercial in nature. We have determined that you have
not satisfied factors two, three, and four of the public interest requirements set forth in the
applicable regulations.
You state in your FOIA request that the subject of the request is in the publics interest and
is likely to contribute significantly to publics understanding of the operations or activities of the
government. However, you have not satisfied the second factor of the public interest standard,
because you have not shown with any specificity what, if any, informative value is contained in the
records you are seeking and how that information is likely to contribute to the publics
understanding of a specific operation or activity of the government. See National Security
Counselors v. Dept. of Justice, 80 F.Supp.3d 40, 53 (D.D.C. 2015) (holding that the informative
value of a request depends . . . on the requesting party having explained with reasonable specificity

how those documents would increase public knowledge of the functions of the government.)
(quoting Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 481 F.Supp.2d 99, 109 (D.D.C. 2006). By not meeting the second factor of the
public interest standard, , you also have not met the fourth factor of this test, which requires you
to show how the records you are seeking will contribute, in a significant way to the publics
understanding of an operation or activity of the government.
.
Also, you have not met the third factor of the public interest standard, which discusses
your ability to disseminate the requested records to the public. See Judicial Watch v. U.S.
Department of Justice, 185 F.Supp.2d 54, 60 (D.D.C. 2002) (denying a plaintiffs request for a fee
waiver, where the plaintiff failed to show an intent to disseminate records received pursuant to
FOIA, but engaged in activity that amounted to merely making the requested information available
by acting as a private library, information vendor, or middleman); Van Fripp v. Parks, No.
97-0159, slip op. at 12 (D.D.C. March 16, 2000) (use of passive methods of distribution does not
establish entitlement to a fee waiver). Therefore, your failure to meet this factor is itself a
sufficient basis for denying your request for a fee waiver. See Larson v. CIA, 843 F.2d 1481,
1483 (D.C. Cir. 1989).
Please note that pursuant to 28 CFR 16.10, we are required to charge fees for time used to
search for the documents you have requested and for duplication of all pages released to you.
Normally, search time is charged at a rate of $40 per hour after the first two hours which are free,
and duplication fees are $0.05 per page after the first 100 pages which are free. Before we release
documents to you, payment for the accumulated charges must be received by us. Without such
payment, your request file will be closed without further action. Please refer to the fee letter that
we are sending to you with this letter.
If you are not satisfied with my response to your request, 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
website: https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/public/home. Your appeal must be
postmarked or electronically transmitted within ninety (90) days from the date of this letter. If you
submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked "Freedom of
Information Act Appeal."
You may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at the telephone number listed above for any
further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. 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, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, 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.
Sincerely,

Thomas D. Anderson
Acting Assistant Director

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