~1/03/2013 15:55 2026460190 

Judicial 

Watcli 

B~r.a.u...•e n.o one 

is abo»f~ th~ /.(l.tA.ll 

JUDICIAL WATCH t-'A(:Jt:. ~2/04 

DEPT. OF THE TR&ASUMV 

DISOLOSURe 9!r:tVtO!S ·. January 3, 2013 

JAN ft 1 2013 

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL & FACSJMlT.E <lOl-622-3895) 

Department of the Treasury 

Disclosure Services 

REC IVED 

FOIA Request 

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 

Washington, DC 20220 

Re: Freedom nf Information Act Request 

Dear Freedom of J.nfonnation Officer: 

Pursuant to the Freedom ofh1formation Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, Judicial 

Watch, Inc. hereby requests that the Departmatt of Treasury produce the following 

·.within twenty (20) business days: 

The tint 1.0 pages of any and all applications for general and/or specific 

licenses to' import goods, products, and/or services from North Korea 

submitted to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OF AC) between ,January 

1, 2009 and the present. 

We call your attention to President Obama's January 21, 2009 Memorandum 

concerning the Freedom of Infonnation Act, in which he states: 

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of 

disclosure, in order to renew their commitme.n.t to the 

principles embodied in FOIA ... The presumption of 

disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving 

FOIA. 1 

TI1e tuemo further provides 1hat "The f'reedom of Information Act should be 

administered with a clear presumption: In the case of doubt, ope1mess prevails." 

Nevertheless, if any responsive record or portion thereof is claimed to be exempt 

from production W1der FOIA, please provide sutlicient identifying infonn.ation with . 

respect to each allegedly exempt record or portion thereof to allow us to assess the 

1 Freedom oflnformation Act. Pres. Mem. of January 21, 2009, 74 Fed. Reg. 4683. 

425 Third St., SW, Suite 800. Washington, DC 20024 Tel: (202) 646-5172 or I-888-S93-K442 

.-Ax: (202) 646·5199 Email: info(g).ludic1a1Watch.org www.JudiciaiWatch.org 
01~03/2013 15:55 2026460190 JUDICIAL WATCH 

Treasury 

January 1, 2013 

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propriety of the claimed exemption. Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), 

· cert. denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1-974). In addition, any reasonably segregable portion of a 

·' responsive record must be provided, after redaction of any allegedly exempt material. 5 

U.S.C. § SS2(b). 

For purposes of this request, the term "record'1 shall me:n1.: (1) any written. 

printed, or typed material of any kind, including without limitatioti. all correspondence, 

memoranda, notes, messages, letters, cards, facsimiles, papers, fonns, telephone 

messages, diaries, schedules, calendars, chronological data, minutes, books, reports, 

charts, lists, ledgers, invoices, worksheets, receipts, returns, com.putcr printouts, printed 

matter, prospectuses, statements, checks, statistics, surveys, affidavits, contracts, 

agreements, transcripts, magazine or newspaper articles, or pr.ess releases; (2) any 

electronically, mailletically, or mechanically stored material of any kind, including 

without limitation all electronic m.ail or e-mail; (3) any audio, aural, visual, or video 

records, recordings, or representations of any kind; (4) any sraphic materials and data 

compilations from which information can be obtained; and (5) any materials using other 

means of preserving thought or expression. 

Judicial Watch also hereby requests a waiver of both search and duplication. fees 

putsuant to 5 U.S.C. §§ SS2(a)(4)(A)(li)(II) and (a)(4)(A)(Ui). Judicial Watch is entitled 

to a waiver of search fees under 5 U.S .C. § 552(a)( 4)(A)(ii)(II) because it is a member of 

the news media. Cf. National Secw·ity Archive v. Department of Defense, 880 F .2d 13 81, 

1387 (D.C. Cir. 1989)(defining news media within FOIA context'). Judici.al Watch has 

also been recognized as a member of the news media in other FOJA litigation. See~ e.g., 

Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice, 133 F. Supp.2d 52 (D.D.C. 2000); 

and, Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Department ofDefonse, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44003, *1 

(D.D.C. June 28, 2006). Judicial Watch regularly obtains information about the 

operations and activities of government through FOIA and other means, uses its editorial 

skills to tum this information into distinct works, and publishes a11d disseminates these 

works to the public .. It intends to do likewise with the records it receives in response to 

this request. 

Judicial Watch also is entitled to a complete waiver ofbo~b search fees and 

duplication fees pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). Under tbis provision, records: 

shall be furnished without any charge or at a charge 

reduced below the fees established under clause (H) if 

disclosure of the information is in the public intereSt 

because it is likely to contribute significantly to publie 

understanding of the operations or activities of goyemment 

and is not primarily in the conunercial interest of the 

requester. 

S U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). 

PAGE ~3/~4 
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JUDICIAL WATCH .. PAGE 04/04 

In adctition, ifrecotds are not produced within twenty (20) business days, Judicial 

Watch is entitled to a complete waiver of search and duplication fees under Section 6(b) 

of the OPEN Government Act of2007, whlch amended FOIA at S U.S.C. § 

· (a)(4}(A)(viii). 

Judicial Watch is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit, educational erganization, and, by 

. definition, it has no commercial purpose. Judicial Watch exists tb educate the public 

about the operations and activities of government, as well as to increase public 

understanding about the importance of ethics and the rule of law in government. The 

particular records requested herein are sought as part of Judicial Watch's ongoing efforts 

to document the operations and activities of tbe federal government and to educate tbe 

public about these operations and activities. Once Judicial Watch obtains the requested 

records, it intends to analyze them and disseminate the results of its analysis, as well as 

the records themselves, as a special written report. Judicial Watch will also educate the 

public via radio programs, Judicial Watch's website, and/or newsletter, among other 

outlets. It also will make the records available to other members of the ntedia or 

researchers upon request. Judicial Watch has a provett ability to disseminate information 

obtained through FOIA to the public, as demonstrated by its long-standing and 

continuing public outreach efforts. 

Given these eitcurnstances, Judicial Watch is entitled to a public interest fee 

waiver of both search costs and duplication costs. Nonetheless, m. the event our request 

for a waiver of search and/or duplication costs is denied, JudicialWatch is willing to pay 

up to $350.00 in search. and/or duplication costs. Judicial Watch ,requests that it be 

contacted before any such costs are jncurred, in order to prioritize ·search and duplication 

eft"orts. '· 

1n an effort to facilitate record production within the statutory time limit, Judicial 

Watch is willing to ·accept documents in electronic format (e.g. e-mail, .pdfs). When 

necessary, .Tudici.al Watch will also accept the "rolling production" of d.ocuments. 

lf you do not understand this request or any portion thereof, or if you feel you 

require clarification of this request or any portion thereof, please' contact us immediately 

at 202-646-5172 or sdun.agan.@iudicialwatch.org. We look forward to receiving the 

. requested documents and a waiver of both search and duplication costs within twenty 

(20) business days. Thank you for your cooperation. 

Dunagan 

Judicial Watch