Pinson v. U.S. Dep't of Justice
| Decision Date | 30 March 2020 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No.: 18-486 (RC) |
| Parties | JEREMY PINSON, Plaintiff, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Re Document Nos.: 47, 49, 54, 56, 58 62, 64, 66, 67, 68 73, 77
Pro se Plaintiff Jeremy Pinson is currently an inmate at U.S. Penitentiary ("USP") Tucson, a federal prison located in Arizona. While in federal custody, Pinson filed dozens of Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") requests with different components of the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") as well as with the Central Intelligence Agency ("CIA"). Here, Pinson primarily alleges that she1 received inadequate responses to these requests. See Am. Compl. at 2, ECF No. 16 (). Pinson also brings claims under the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") against the government, as well as Bivens claims under the First and Eight Amendments against several government employees—none of whom have apparently been served or are currently represented by the DOJ.
In response, the DOJ has filed two pre-answer motions—one on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), the DOJ's Office of Information Policy ("OIP"), DOJ's Office of the Inspector General ("OIG"), the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys ("EOUSA"), the U.S. Marshals Service ("USMS"), and the CIA; the other on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP")— asking the Court to dismiss some of Pinson's FOIA claims (as well as her APA claim) and grant summary judgment in its favor on others. Specifically, the DOJ has moved to dismiss Pinson's FOIA claims against the FBI and OIP, as well as some of her FOIA claims against the BOP, for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The DOJ has also moved to dismiss Pinson's FOIA claims against the CIA, as well as her APA claim, for failure to state a claim. The DOJ has moved for summary judgment in its favor on Pinson's FOIA claims against the OIG, EOUSA, and the USMS, as well as her remaining FOIA claims against BOP.
For the reasons stated below, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the DOJ's partial motions to dismiss and for summary judgment. Namely, the Court grants summary judgment for Defendants as to Pinson's claims relating to three of her FBI requests; twenty-one of her BOP requests; all six of her EOUSA requests; both of her OIP requests, and her single USMS request. The Court denies summary judgment for Pinson's claims relating to twelve of her FBI requests; twenty-seven of her BOP requests; and all four of her OIG requests. The Court also dismisses Pinson's APA claims and her claims relating to her CIA FOIA requests. The Court also resolves a number of unrelated motions that are currently pending and ripe for decision.
Pinson's amended complaint lists the specific FOIA requests at issue. See Am. Compl. App. A ("List of FOIA Requests"), ECF No. 16. Because the agencies' handling of each FOIArequest is crucial to the disposition of Pinson's claims, the Court will discuss each request in some detail.
Fifteen requests were directed to the FBI. See List of FOIA Requests.
On July 13, 2016, the FBI received a letter from Pinson dated June 16, requesting all records about Bernie Sanders. Hardy Decl. ¶ 5 & n.3, ECF No. 49-4. That same day, the FBI replied to Pinson's request assigning it a request number and asserting FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C), as records implicating privacy concerns of a third party. Id. ¶ 6. The FBI informed Pinson that absent a showing of consent, proof of death, or an overriding public interest the FBI could neither confirm nor deny the existence of responsive records. Id. The FBI advised Pinson that, if she did not provide such information within thirty days, her request would be administratively closed and that she could appeal the FBI's decision to OIP within ninety days. Id. Pinson appealed to OIP in a letter dated August 15, challenging the FBI's determination on grounds of overriding public interest, id. ¶ 7, which OIP received on December 12, id. ¶ 8 n.4. On December 13, OIP acknowledged receipt of Pinson's appeal. Id. ¶ 8. On January 13, 2017, OIP affirmed the FBI's decision and informed Pinson of her right to file suit in federal court. Id. ¶ 9.
On July 26, 2016, the FBI received a letter from Pinson dated July 10, requesting all records regarding the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Id. ¶ 11 & n.5. That same day, the FBI replied to Pinson's request, assigning it a request number, asserting FOIA Exemption 7(A) as records pertaining to a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding, and directing Pinson to publicly available information on the FBI website. Id. ¶ 12. Pinson appealed to OIP in a letterdated August 2 challenging the FBI's determination and asserting that public internet records were "of no use" to her and that "FOIA requires production in the format [Pinson] request[s]," namely paper, id. Ex. H, which OIP received August 23, id. ¶ 14 n.6. On August 26, OIP acknowledged receipt of Pinson's appeal. Id. ¶ 14. On September 9, OIP remanded Pinson's request to the FBI for the FBI to provide paper copies of any online public information related to Pinson's request but otherwise affirmed the FBI's determination. Id. ¶ 15.
On March 30, 2017, the FBI mailed Pinson thirteen pages of information responsive to her request. Id. ¶ 16. On April 20, the FBI mailed Pinson a second set of thirteen pages and advised Pinson of her right to appeal to OIP within ninety days. Id. ¶ 17. The FBI has no record of an appeal from Pinson as of August 16, 2018. Id. ¶ 18.
On September 26, 2016, the FBI received a letter from Pinson dated August 19, requesting documents the FBI provided to the House Oversight Committee on August 16, 2016 that summarized the FBI's closed investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email servers while serving as Secretary of State, as well as other files pertaining to Ms. Clinton. Id. ¶¶ 54, 55 n.19. On September 27, the FBI replied to Pinson's request assigning it a request number and directing Pinson to the FBI's FOIA Library to access responsive records. Id. ¶ 55. On October 17, the FBI informed Pinson of an additional release of records responsive to her request available on the FBI's FOIA Library. Id. ¶ 56. Pinson appealed to OIP in a letter dated November 15, challenging the FBI's determination and seeking a CD copy of the records due to Pinson's lack of access to the internet, id. ¶ 57, which OIP received December 1, id. ¶ 58 n. 20. On December 6, OIP acknowledged receipt of Pinson's appeal. Id. ¶ 58. On January 5, 2017, OIP received a second appeal from Pinson, requesting paper copies of the record release, in aletter dated December 19, id. ¶¶ 59, 60 n.21, of which OIP acknowledged receipt on January 11, id. ¶ 60. On January 25 and February 16, OIP remanded both appeals to the FBI for further processing. Id. ¶ 61, 63.
On February 6, the FBI advised Pinson that it had located 809 pages of responsive records and notified Pinson that the FBI required a commitment to pay twenty-five dollars in fees and an alternative address to release the records. Id. ¶ 63. On February 23, the FBI received an undated letter from Pinson indicating Pinson's commitment to pay the twenty-five-dollar fee, which did not list an alternative address. Id. ¶ 64. That same day, the FBI sent a letter to Pinson confirming Pinson's commitment to pay the fee and requesting Pinson to provide an alternative address. Id. ¶ 65. By a letter dated March 2, Pinson provided the FBI an alternate address. Id. ¶ 66. On March 14, the FBI advised Pinson that 650 pages of records were being released to her by CD and that, as a first interim records release, payment of fees was not required until the second interim release. Id. ¶ 67. On March 27, the FBI advised Pinson that 197 pages of records were being released to her by CD and that twenty-five dollars in duplication fees was due within thirty days. Id. ¶ 68.
On May 2, the FBI advised Pinson that, based on her OIP appeal, it was releasing 808 pages of responsive records at a cost of $40.40, resulting in a total of $65.40 in fees owed to the FBI due within thirty days. Id. ¶ 69. On June 13, the FBI advised Pinson that due to the nonpayment of fees it was closing the current request and two other pending FOIA requests.2 Id. ¶ 70. The FBI also advised Pinson that she could appeal the decision to OIP within ninety days. Id. As of August 16, 2018, the FBI has no record of Pinson appealing the above feedeterminations. Id. ¶ 72. Pinson has indicated that the fee, as a result of the present litigation, has been sent, Pl.'s Resp. to Partial Mot. to Dismiss & for Summ. J. ("Pl.'s DOJ Opp'n") 2, ECF No. 57, which the FBI is unable to confirm, 2d Hardy Decl. ¶ 6-7, ECF No. 69-3.
On October 17, 2016, the FBI received a letter from Pinson dated October 6, requesting all records regarding her October 3, 2016 interview with the FBI and all records concerning investigation of Pinson since September 20, 2016. Hardy Decl. ¶ 76 & n.23. On October 26, the FBI replied to Pinson's request, assigning it a request number and requesting "further personal identifying information" in order to conduct the search. Id. ¶ 77. On November 9, Pinson provided the requisite information, id. ¶ 78, which the FBI received on November 22, id. ¶ 78 n.24. On November 23, the FBI acknowledged receipt of Pinson's perfected request. Id. ¶ 79. On December 9, the FBI advised Pinson in a letter that the responsive records were part of a pending investigation and exempt from disclosure under FOIA...
To continue reading
Request your trial