Opinion ID: 184976
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Exemption 7(C) Withholdings

Text: 13 In his cross-motion for summary judgment Cottone argued that the FBI had improperly invoked Exemption 7(C) to redact virtually all portions of the two audio tapes that the agency had released. For some reason, the district court never ventured beyond Cottone's Exemption 3 objections, dismissing the case without evaluating the propriety of the FBI's Exemption 7(C) claim. Notwithstanding the district court's oversight, on appeal the FBI maintains that the case was properly dismissed anyway since, by its own determination, it validly applied Exemption 7(C). 14 Even were we inclined to review the agency's Exemption 7(C) redactions without first remanding to the district court, the present record would preclude us from meaningfully exercising our power of judicial review. To justify its invocation of a particular exemption, the agency must append a declaration to its motion for summary judgment that provide[s] detailed and specific information demonstrating 'that material withheld is logically within the domain of the exemption claimed.'  Campbell v. United States Dep't of Justice, 164 F.3d 20, 30 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (quoting King v. United States Dep't of Justice, 830 F.2d 210, 217 (D.C. Cir. 1987));see also Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820, 827 (D.C. Cir. 1973).This the FBI has completely failed to do. All that the agency can point to is an unsworn cover letter sent to Cottone from an official with the FBI that conclusorily asserts that [t]he long pauses constitute exempt information, much of it pertaining to third parties. App. 181. We, therefore, must remand this matter to the district court, which should instruct the FBI to prepare a Vaughn index and declaration that supply a relatively detailed justification, specifically identifying the reasons why a particular exemption is relevant and correlating those claims with the particular part of [the] withheld [tape] to which they apply. King, 830 F.2d at 224 (internal quotation omitted).