10 March 2022
Ian Head
Center for Constitutional Rights
666 Broadway, Floor 7
New York, NY 10012
[email protected]
Reference: F-2022-00259
Dear Requester:
This letter is a final response to your 18 November 2021 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information related to Relevant Operations that occurred in Kenya from January 1, 2003 to present:
- Any and all records of Communications (as defined in Section A of your request) [s3] between any of agencies this Request is directed to (CIA, DOD, FBI, DNI, and/or DOS), concerning:
- The U.S. government's role in supporting the Relevant Operations by Kenyan police and Paramilitary Forces.
- Any type of cooperation between Kenyan Police and Paramilitary Forces and the CIA, FBI, DOD, DNI or State Department.
- Any counterterrorism training, training courses, training budget(s) or training equipment of Kenyan Police and Paramilitary Forces by the CIA, FBI, or DOD.
We completed a thorough review of your request and determined that, in accordance with Section 3.6(a)[s4] of Executive Order 13526, the CIA can neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of records responsive to your request. [s5] The fact of the existence or nonexistence of such records is itself currently and properly classified and is intelligence sources and methods information protected from disclosure by Section 6 of the CIA Act of 1949, as amended, and Section 102A(i)(l) of the National Security Act of 1947[s6] , as amended. Therefore, your request is denied pursuant to FOIA exemptions (b)(l) and (b)(3).[s7]
As the CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator, I am the CIA official responsible for this determination. You may appeal this response to the Agency Release Panel, in my care, within 90 days from the date of this letter. Please explain the basis for your appeal.
Please be advised that you may also seek dispute-resolution services from the CIA FOIA Public Liaison or from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) of the National Archives and Records Administration. OGIS offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. Please note, contacting CIA's FOIA Public Liaison or OGIS does not affect your right to pursue an administrative appeal.[IH8]
To contact CIA directly with questions or appeal the agency’s response to the Agency Release Panel:
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20505
Sincerely,
XXXX
Acting Information and Privacy Coordinator
[IH1]NATE: If it’s possible to use a different font on this document, that would be great – I’m using Courier because it’s close to what the agencies tend to use when they send us responses, but any different font is cool?
[IH2]Link to this FOIA request: https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/muhuri-foia-request
[s3]Here, the agency will begin by laying out what you’ve asked for in your FOIA request which they are responding to in this letter.
We have shortened this example but agencies will copy attach or copy your entire FOIA request in their response.
[s4]Section 3.6(a) of Executive Order 13526 allows an agency to “refuse to confirm or deny the existence or nonexistence of requested records whenever the fact of their existence or nonexistence is itself classified under this order or its predecessors.”
This Executive Order is often cited as a reason for withholding the release of information.
You can read the full text of the Executive Order here: https://www.archives.gov/isoo/policy-documents/cnsi-eo.html
[s5]This “NCND” (neither confirm nor deny) language signifies that this is a Glomar response. Glomar responses most often pop up in the national security context or when dealing with matters of personal privacy, but can be used by any federal agency in response to a FOIA request.
[s6]These statutes are referred to as “statutes of exemption” and are often cited by agencies in conjunction with FOIA exemptions as reason for denying requests.
[s7]FOIA exemptions (b)(1) and (b)(3) are exemptions regarding information classified to protect national security and information, which if disclosed, would invade another person’s individual privacy. There are a total of 9 FOIA exemptions, which you can read more about here:
[IH8]Standard boilerplate language – whether or not you choose to purse dispute-resolution, do not it delay or stop you from appealing.