Case 1:17-cv-00645-RC Document 13 Filed 07/14/17 Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
____________________________________
)
AMERICAN CENTER FOR )
LAW AND JUSTICE, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 17-cv-00645
)
NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
___________________________________ )

JOINT STATUS REPORT

1. Plaintiff American Center for Law and Justice (Plaintiff) and Defendants

National Security Agency (NSA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence

(ODNI) (collectively, Defendants), by and through undersigned counsel, respectfully submit

this Joint Status Report. This action arises under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5

U.S.C. 552, and involves FOIA requests seeking records pertaining to the Procedures for the

Availability or Dissemination of Raw Signals Intelligence Information by the National Security

Agency Under Section 2.3 of Executive Order 12333. See Compl. (Dkt. No. 1) 89.

Pursuant to the Courts June 5, 2017 Minute Order, the Parties submit this Joint Status Report to:

(i) update the Court about Defendants efforts to identify records responsive to Plaintiffs FOIA

requests, (ii) recommend a schedule for processing and releasing responsive, non-exempt

materials, and (iii) identify any issues that either party believes may ultimately require the

Courts resolution.

2. ODNI has finished crafting and refining its searches, as well as completed its

searches for materials responsive to Plaintiffs FOIA requests. The searches conducted by ODNI
 Case 1:17-cv-00645-RC Document 13 Filed 07/14/17 Page 2 of 4

identified approximately 65 potentially responsive documents of varying lengths. ODNI will

require additional time to finish its line-by-line review of the identified documents for

responsiveness and applicable FOIA exemptions. The parties agree that ODNI will process 100

pages within 6 weeks, prioritizing communications to or from the Director of National

Intelligence. The parties have also agreed that ODNI will finish processing the remaining pages

by October 6, 2017.

3. The NSA has finished crafting and refining its searches for materials responsive

to Plaintiffs FOIA requests. The NSA has also finished searching some of the relevant

components, including the Office of the Director. These efforts have identified approximately

60 potentially responsive documents of varying lengths. However, in the course of conducting

its original searches, the NSA learned that several additional components may house potentially

responsive materials. Therefore, the NSA will require a modest amount of additional time to

complete its searches of these additional components. At this time, the NSA anticipates that it

will be able to complete its searches of the additional components within 6 weeks. In addition to

conducting the supplemental searches, the NSA will begin processing the materials that it has

already identified as potentially responsive. The parties have agreed that the NSA will process

100 pages within 6 weeks, and finish processing the remaining pages, identified thus far, by

October 6, 2017.

4. The NSA and ODNI will work as expeditiously as possible to process the

potentially responsive materials. The proposed processing schedule takes into account the time-

consuming process of conducting the page-by-page, line-by-line review that is required to

prevent the release of information that is currently and properly classified, would constitute an

unwarranted breach of personal privacy, or is otherwise exempt from release. The proposed

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schedule also takes into consideration the additional time that will be needed for Defendants to

refer responsive documents to other government agencies for their respective determinations

regarding the releasability of information in NSA/ODNI records that belongs to, or originated

with, the other agencies, or in which other agencies have equities. Finally, the NSA and ODNI

have limited resources that they can dedicate to this specific case, especially given the ongoing

administrative and litigation burdens imposed on them by other FOIA cases.

5. Defendants have conferred with Plaintiff, and the parties respectfully propose that

they file another joint status report on September 1, 2017. The joint status report will update the

Court about the results of the NSAs additional searches, as well as propose a schedule for

processing any materials identified as a result of the additional searches. One week prior to the

joint status report and 6 weeks from today (August 25, 2017), the NSA and ODNI will release

responsive, non-exempt records from the materials that they have finished processing.

Dated: July 14, 2017 Respectfully submitted,

THE AMERICA CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE CHAD A. READLER

Acting Assistant Attorney General
/s/ Abigail A. Southerland
ABIGAIL A. SOUTHERLAND MARCIA BERMAN
(TN Bar No. 26608) Assistant Director, Federal Programs Branch
JAY ALAN SEKULOW (D.C. Bar no. 496335)
STUART J. ROTH (D.C. Bar No. 475937
COLBY M. MAY (D.C. Bar No. 394340)
CRAIG L. PARSHALL /s/ Stephen M. Elliott
BENJAMIN P. SISNEY (D.C. Bar No. 1044721) STEPHEN M. ELLIOTT (PA Bar# 203986)
CARLY F. GAMMILL (D.C. Bar No. 982663) Trial Attorney
MATTHEW R. CLARK (D.C. Bar No. 1028379) United States Department of Justice
201 Maryland Avenue, N.E. Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
Washington, D.C. 20002 20 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Rm 7318
Tel: (202) 546-8890 Washington, D.C. 20530
Fax: (202) 546-9309 Tel: (202) 305-8177
Email: asoutherland@aclj.org Email: stephen.elliott@usdoj.gov

Counsel for Plaintiff Counsel for Defendants

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on July 14, 2017, I electronically transmitted the foregoing to the

clerk of court for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia using the CM/ECF

filing system.

/s/ Stephen M. Elliott

STEPHEN M. ELLIOTT
Trial Attorney
United States Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
20 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Room 7318
Washington, D.C. 20530