• 

Judicial 

Watcli 

Becacue no one 

is ub011e clu1 l.ulfl'/ 

.\ 

Apri19, 2013 

· VIA CERTIFIED MAIL · 

Marshall Fields 

Assistant Director 

. Information Disclosure Division 

·,Office of Resource Management 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

:, Disclosure Services (DO) Roon1 6204 Annex 

. Washington. DC 20220 

' . ~: Re: Freedom of lnformati~a Aet Request 

Dear Mr. Fields: 

DEPT. OP THE TA!ASURY 

DISCLOSURE SERVICES 

MAY 2 .f 2013 

RECEIVED 

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), S U.$.C. § 552, Judicial 

. Watch, Inc. hereby requests~ the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) produce 

the following within twenty (20) business days: 

All records concerning, regarding, or relating to Beyoncc KnowlesCarter's and Shawn Corey "Jay-Z" Carter's trip to Cuba.~ 

· The time frame for this request nms from March 31, 2013 to AprilS, 2013. 

We call your attention to President Obama's January 21,1009 Memorandum 

conccrnin& the Freedom of Information Act, i1l which he states: ~\: ~·; 

All aacncies ~hould adopt a presumption in favor of 

disclosure, in:order to renew their comnutm.ent to 'the 

principles embodied in FOIA ... The prest1mption of disclo~ should be applied to all decislons invo~ving 

FOIA.- .' 

The memo furtller provides that "The Freedom of Information Act should be 

administered with a clear presumption: In the case of doubt, ope~ess prevails." 

' Business Insider: "~publicans Wanl to Know lf Beyonce and Jay-Z Had Permission to Go to Cub&," ~pril 7, 20 13. http://www .businessinsider.tomlrepubHcans .. waqt .. to~bow .. if .. beyonce-and-jay-z .. bad .. 

· ~ssion•to-go-to·cuba·20 13-4 

FrNClom of Information Act. Pres. Mem. of January 21, 2009, 74 Fed. Reg. 4CJ83. 

425 Thi1'd St., SW, Sui~ 800, Wu.shil'Lglun, DC 20024 .,Tel: (202) 646~S 172 or 1-888-593-8442 

l"AX: (202) 646~5 199'':.. Emuil: iofo@JudicialWatch.org Ill www.ludidaiW~tr.h.ore 

"t 

' 

L0/Z0 39\'d 

HOl\#M 1\#IOtanr 06.1091:'9~0~ 1E :10 E10~/E~/S0 
~ Oflicc of Forei~D Assets Contr;ol 

· April9, 2013 

· Pa1el Qf4 

N'evertheless, if any responsive record or portion thereof is claimed to be exempt 

from production under FOIA. please provide sutlicient identiiyirig information with 

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

· propriety of the claimed exemption. Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d ~20 (D.C. Cir. 1973), 

cert~ denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1974). In addition, any reasortably segregable portion of a 

· responsive record must be pr.ovided, after redaction of any allegedly exempt material. 5 

. u.s.c. § 552(b). 

For purposes of this request, the term "record" shall n1.ean; (1) any written, 

printed, or typed material of iny ldnd, including without limitati~ all.correspondence, 

Qlcmoranda, notes, ~essages, letters, cards, facsimiles, papers, fdnns, telephone 

; messages, diaries, schedules~ calendars, chronological data, minUtes, books. reports, 

: charts, lists, ledacrs. invoices. worksheets, receipts, returns, computer printouts, printed 

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

; agreements, transcripts, magazine or newspaper articles, or press .~eleases; (2) any 

. electronically, magnetically' or mechanically stored material of any kind, including ' 

without limitation all electronic mail or e-mail; (3) any audio, auial, visual, or video 

.· records, recordings, or ~sentations· of any kind; ( 4) any graphic materials and data 

: · compilations from which information can be obtained; and (5) any, materials using othcs;- . 

· · means of preserving thought:or expression. ,· 

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

pursuant to S U.S.C. §§ 552(J~)(4)(A)(ii){II) and (a)(4)(A)(iii). Judicial Watoh is entitled 

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

. the news media. Cf. National Security Archtve v. Department off)efense, 880 F .2d 13 81, 

"1387 (Q.C'I .Cir. 1989)(dctiniug news media within FOIA context). Judicial Watch has 

also been recognized as a m~mber of the news media in other FOtA litigatio~ See, e.g., 

. Judiclql Watch, Inc. v. U.S .. pepartmenl ofJustice, 133 F. Supp.2d 52 (D.D.C. 2000); 

: ·and, Judicial Watch, Inc .. v. De[Kll'tment of Defonse, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44003, •1 

(D.D.C. June· 28. 2006). JuQicial Watch regularly obtains information about the 

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

, skillS to tum this information into distinct works, and publishes aP:d disseminates these 

works to the public. It intends to do likewise with the records it receives in response to , this request. .: · .. ·:: t, 

. . ~udicial Watch also iS entitled to a complete waiver of both search fees and 

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

shall be furl:U~hed without any charge or at a charge 

rc:<fuced belo":' the fees established under clause {il) if 

disclosure of the information is in the public interest 

because it is likely to contri'b·ute significantly to pltblic 

understanding of the openttions or activities of go.vemment . . 

L0/E0 39~d H~l~M l~I~Ianr 061091:'9~0~ 
Office of Foreign Assets Control 

AprU 9, 2013 

Page3 of4 

and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the 

requester. 

5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). I 

·~ 

In addition, if records are not produced within tWenty (20);business days, Judicial 

. Watch is entitled to a complete waiver of sem-ch and duplication fees under Section 6(b) 

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

{a)(4)(A)(~ii). 

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

definition, it has no commercial pmpose. Judicial Watch exists tO educate the public 

about the operations and activities of govenunent, 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 eftorts 

to document the operations and activities of the federal govemm~nt and to educate the 

public about these operations and activities. Once Judicial Watch 9btains 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 news!~tter~ among other 

outlets. It also will make the records available to other members 'of the n1edia or 

researchers upon request. J~cial Watch bas a proven ability to 'disseminate information 

· obtained through FOIA to ~e public, as demonstrated by its long .. standing and . 

L0/1:'9 39'tld 

continuing public outreach efforts. '' 

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

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

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

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

contacted before any such ~sts are inc~ in order to prloritize;searoh and duplication efforts. : ' .. 

In an effort to facili~te record production within the statu~ry time limit, Judicial 

Watch is willing to accept documents in electronic tbrmat (e.g. e.imail, .pdfs). When 

necessary, Judicial Watch will also accept the "rolling productio~;~ of documents. 

~·~ 

HO!VM 1';1IOianr 06109~9l0l 
· Omce of F,reip Assets Control 

April 9, 2013 

Page4of4 

· .. 

If 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.Qontact us immediately 

at 202 .. 646-5172 or jmccarthy@judicialwatch.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. 

Sincerely, 

~~y Judicial Watch 

.. 

':\·,. "' 

L9/~9 ::!>~d HOl~M 1~IOIOnr