"Obvious Stonewalling": Savage Finds BATFU in Willful Violation of FOIA Request

Via E-mail :

FOIA request 08-1494

Ms. Graham,

In your final "final response" to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for "the documents and final determinations of the investigations" of the four closed investigations based on complaints made by myself or on my behalf.

Due to the poor punctuation in the response I can only assume the BATFE disclosure division meant to cite the following, which BATFE contends is exempt from disclosure under the Title 5, United States Code, Section 552(b):

b(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letter which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;

b(6) personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clear and unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

It's a bit hard to envision b(6) as being applicable, as I never asked for personnel or medical files. BATFE can probably justify at least some of b(5); however, I don't see how the disclosure division can lawfully withhold the results of the investigations as I originally requested in September.

This is obvious stonewalling. It appears you are parsing words of the law to prevent the results of the investigations from becoming known. Your office clearly stated: "We are transferring these documents to that federal agency..." In other words your disclosure division admits it had the documents and got rid of them to prevent from complying with my lawful FOIA request? Perhaps another FOIA asking for a budget breakdown of how much money your office and the BATFE spent in man hours and all other expenses while responding to my FOIA request 08-1494 is in order? I would think the results of that would be of great interest to the U.S. Inspector General, the honorable Glenn Fine.

Ms. Graham, please respond to my original FOIA request for "the documents and final determinations of the investigations".

Respectfully,

Len Savage
-----------------
Ain't that something? And note when they want records, they just come in, armed, and seize them.--DC

Intercepted Enemy Dispatches

We’ve been getting hit a little too. The mommies hate when you FOIA school districts and local governments and get their comms lol [More]

Regular readers here know I do FOIAs all the time and report on the results. This business of going after government/MILM corroboration strikes me as intriguing, so I asked for examples.  Follow the "More" link to see some.

Interesting stuff.

[Via Elmer Non-Fudd]

UPDATE: I am informed it is a locked account and anyone who is not an approved Twitter follower of that account will not be able to access it. So here's what accessing that link would have made available:

• Everytown to use SDA for 2020 elections. Here’s how to fight/expose them
• Champaign, Illinois FOIA regarding their Emergency Declaration and firearms
• Loudoun County, Virginia FOIA: Remember Moms Demand Action’s cheerleader?
• Loudoun County board meeting tonight (12/11): how about another FOIA drop?
• FOIA REQUESTS: A WEAPON WE CAN ALL USE TO FIGHT THE ANTI-GUN INDUSTRY
• Think legalizing marijuana in Illinois didn’t have a catch? Think again. It funds gun control grants

Ultimately, the Problem is the State

In re my ethics complaint against Gannettfor outing permit holders, correspondent "Frank in Atlanta asks:

WHY are we sitting around being mad that the horse got out -- when the REAL culprit is the state:  WHY is the barn door being left open in the first place ?

He's got a point, and adds a similar concern about arrest records and the damage done with those.  I'll email him back and ask for permission to include his entire email as an update to this post, because he raises some really good points.

Correspondent "Bklyn" shared another disturbing link that bolsters Frank's contentions.  Check this out.

Interesting, this "activist" concerned in identifying others is masking himself.

UPDATE: I received permission from "Frank in Atlanta"--here is what he wrote:

Greetings David,

I appreciated your 1/5/13 Examiner article questioning media ethics.   I see a connection with Dave Workman's Examiner 1/5 article tying the 1st and 2nd Amendments together.  I offer 2 counterpoints then 3 questions that are "outside the box" for the present discussion.  FYI, put your 2 articles together with what I share below and there is something going on in the Georgia legislature which the NRA needs to get involved in asap.
POINT 1:  Mad at the Wrong Guys:  gun owner records are "information assets" which are "owned" by the state.  So is the state adequately protecting these assets, given the debate of safety for individuals versus FOIA for the neighborhood ?  What is the gain vs loss in "outing" gun owners ?  FYI, newspapers, TV et al are AMORAL entities that sustain revenue through info-tainment (titillation).  So WHY are we sitting around being mad that the horse got out -- when the REAL culprit is the state:  WHY is the barn door being left open in the first place ?!   Said another way, if you leave meat on the table with the dog in the room to go answer the door, when you come back the meat is GONE.  Dogs will be dogs.  The fault lay with the meat owner, not the dog.  Only 1 of those can institutionally change their nature.
POINT 2:  Gun Records and Arrest Records vs "outing" people -- a similar ethics question:   what's true of mis-used gun records is also true of ARREST records.  How many people do you know, who were found innocent of a minor crime 10 years ago or more, have recently had "sealed" arrest records show up on a mugshots.com type website run by low-lifes out to shame people into paying to take it down ?  These sites take the damage further by letting viewers tag their mugshot photo with sexual references, and it includes a google map link to their home address.
7 million people in the USA and counting are impacted by this -- that's a lot of people who suddenly would become supporters of the NRA if it was to position to treat mugshots and gun records as a common cause.
A "mugshots.com" type website but for outing gun owners ?  You too will soon be branded on dozens of internet websites as "a hottie" along with your address and photo online -- IT'S COMING unless the people act NOW.
THREE QUESTIONS:  On mugshots and gun records, the state must again be questioned as the meat-hungry dog strikes again to the detriment of 7 million americans and counting.

First question, why should the state "out" people by posting the arrests online and harming that individual's reputation BEFORE the case has been concluded (at least for non-violent crimes and first-time offenders) ?  Media gets potpourri to get ratings and sell papers, but otherwise what value comes from this ?
Second question, in protecting the info asset, there is a chain of custody issue:  3rd parties archive old arrests independent of the official source because they know that many of them will eventually be sealed, and along the way they fail to keep them up to date, and so become dirt purveyors to prospective employers and gossip seekers (e.g. rent-a-cop companies, Spokeo, Intelius, Mugshots.com). The state fails to assert info asset ownership and citizens needlessly suffer.  Contrast this with the heavy regulation by the state of credit bureaus subject to litigation for failure to keep current and accurate info.  A double standard ?
Third question,  the federal courts have ruled to withhold federal arrest records from the mugshot profiteers as they argue that public interest would not be served versus loss to the individuals in outing them.  Yet I hear that the Obama administration wants to publish the complete gun owner registry ?  Another double standard ?
Gun records and arrest records are one in the same:  and a "mugshots.com" to out gun-owners is COMING.  This is a PRIVACY issue, to which we must look at proper control by the state over "information assets" and "chain of custody" and "intellectual property ownership" of those assets.   And sharing these outside of law enforcement and government offices, in this new age of "the internet of everything" is an ethics and safety issue.  A more clear line around the FOIA is required.  Dave Workman's Examiner article this week pointing to Sanford Levinson's work is timely.  It's time to deal with the 2nd and 1st Amendments together head-on.  Peoples very lives, and livelihoods, are at stake here.  And in the meantime, let's not allow ourselves to be intimidated by AMORAL mass media and the 2-edged sword of FOIA.  The state serves the people well before it need serve the press.

UPDATE: Class action in 2013 by Ga Rep Bruce on Mugshots:  http://www.11alive.com/News/Crime/268273/445/Georgia-lawmaker-wants-to-police-mugshot-websites

Where Credit is Due

Included in link is our FOIA work against Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Virginia county governments and 2A resolution, and nabbing the Illinois government’s scheme to use collected taxes from legal marijuana sales to fund gun control groups via grants. Anyone can FOIA, and it can produce fantastic information. [More]

It's important to know that fee misappropriation was uncovered and first reported by Mom-at-Arms. I bring that up because it would have been appropriate to acknowledge their work:

[Right click/open in new tab to view]

As I've noted over the years, that's important for many reasons.

You'll forgive me if I take such matters personally.

ATF FOIA Production on Bump Stocks

Our "servants" respond to a specific question...

Today we received a large production regarding a FOIA to ATF about bumpstocks and Mandalay Bay [More]

Four volumes, plenty of redactions, including the official ATF report on bumps stocks (Vol. 1 (pp 671-674).

Hey, none of us were doing anything this weekend anyway, right?

Frivolity, ATF-Style

“There have been numerous FOIA suits against ATF, and I am unaware of any court ever holding that it is not an agency,” Halbrook told Guns.com in an email and added, “The denial in the answer that ATF is not an ‘agency’ as defined is frivolous.” [More]

GUNS.com reports on the latest development in our FOIA lawsuit against the not-an-agency.

Lawsuit Seeks ATF FOIA Compliance, Determination and Rules Request

A complaint filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeks an order to compel the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request filed in March and ignored in violation of federal law. The FOIA sought copies of policies and rulings relied on in enforcement and determination actions. [More]

My inaugural TTAG report notes you can't very well follow the rules if they're not the same for everyone, or if won't even tell you what they are. We just filed an action aimed at changing that.

If you agree with our goals, please share this one far and wide, including with establishment media.

Why does Justice Department need to lie on FOIA responses?

Authorizing the administration—any administration—to introduce lies into the FOIA process is a perversion of the intent behind the law, with far deeper implications. [More]

This morning's Gun Rights Examiner report notes there's enough lying going on from these characters without making authorizing it official.

FOIA request filed with ATF over Grassley ‘Gunwalker’ briefing

This would include any memorandum, report, summary or other communication that describes what happened at the meeting, including a description of any oral briefing and what was said by both sides, and include copies of any such documents filed or stored, or designated for filing and storage, at the Office of Public and Government Affairs. [More]

Today's Gun Rights Examiner report notes there is no (legitimate) reason why this information should not be shared.

Also find out what makes anti-gunners so angry later today on Trigger Sports LIVE!

Submit you own FOIA? Or at least share the link?

Where Credit is Due...?

U.S. Rep. Bill Sali, R-Idaho, said Friday that his complaints about the slogan - "Always Think Forfeiture" - persuaded the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to end its use on the Leatherman tools handed out to participants in a training program.

But a spokesman for the federal agency said Friday that the agency actually stopped using the slogan about two months ago, when other members of Congress first raised concerns.

So who the hell does BATFU think they are to require a FOIA demand before they'll release the names of other congressmen who "had inquired about the slogan"? Why is that not a freely-accessible public record, and does it not nicely illustrate what light-fleeing shadow-dwellers they are?

Oh, and nice try, Walt Minnick. I see you credit yourself with being "instrumental in the creation of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration)." So I see what you mean about "pay[ing] attention to details" when the topic of assert forfeiture comes up.

I also see that as of a couple months ago, the majority of your support came from out of state donors--that'll serve the independence of Idahoans well--nothing like a little carpetbagging by proxy, eh?

I truly don't fault Sali. You don't know what you don't know, and those other congressmen should have come to the fore on this and been the leaders they tell us they are. And BATFU getting all snitty didn't help. The bottom line is, it's a good thing.

Here's somethihg else good that came out of this:

That changed March 19, when a blogger looking at ATF contracts on a government-purchasing database found an order for 2,000 Leatherman tool-kits engraved with the slogan.

The blogger wrote about it on www.freedomsight.net, and the issue took on a life of its own in the blogosphere. Gun owners and private property rights activists seized on the phrase as a sign that the agency was biased toward law-abiding gun owners.

It's very nice to see Jed get some recognition, and affirms that bloggers can and do affect the course of things.

So--who knows how to file that FOIA request? Not that I don't automatically believe every word they say...

[Via Wayne Newton :) ]

Unmourning Joe

“Exactly, what’re you gonna do,” Scarborough responds, laughing loudly and deeply. [More]

The creepiness of that doesn't surprise me.

As for what I'm gonna do, I'm mulling over if a FOIA request that wouldn't be a waste of time is doable...

Lawsuit Filed Over DOJ’s Second Amendment FOIA Foot-dragging

“But ‘preconditions like these’ have a place in the United States of America when it comes to the right of the people to keep and bear arms?” this column asked in January. “So they’ll go after violations for other rights, but where the Second Amendment is concerned, state entities can do as they please without fear of federal checks? Even though infringements directly affect the ‘security of a free State’ by disarming the citizen Militia?” [More]

We hear the term “law enforcement” all the time. Considering the whole reason we have the Constitution in the first place (as articulated in its Preamble), we hear far too little about rights enforcement.

You Bet It's Personal

“On Saturday, a man with a large assault weapon with a large extended magazine came to my home. He stood outside my kitchen window for a couple of hours or so,” Levine said Monday on the Virginia House floor... [More]

Well, that certainly conjures up a self-serving image. Was he on his property,  next to it and looking through it, or was he on a public sidewalk, technically outside his kitchen window" but not with the menacing intrusiveness being implied?

Without being able to read minds, how does he know the man's intent was to coerce? Perhaps it was to defy. Perhaps it was an act of courtesy, to let him know that actions can have consequences for those who would send armed coercion teams to the homes of their countrymen.

And how come this account says it was a shotgun yet reports Levine saying:

"Are we going to say that it's OK to take loaded assault weapons with extended magazines and go and threaten every elected official?"

So we won't even have Fudd guns if he has his way?

In any event, as desperately as he huffs and puffs, had a crime been committed, the police would have arrested the protestor. Herschel says he's filed a FOIA for their report. And the man answers my question about coercion -- looks like my instincts were right.

And ever the budding totalitarian, Levine leaves us with this:

Levine said that if what happened Saturday is not a crime, he will seek legislation next year to make it one. "If it's not illegal, I'm going to be damned sure by next year it is illegal," he said.

Squeeze, baby, squeeze!

I guess those who demand obedience or else don't like the First Amendment any better than they do the Second.

We Could Tell You But Then We'd Have to Kill You

Gun Owners of America has obtained the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF] Industry Operations Manual used by Industry Operations Inspectors (IOI). The gun-rights group received a copy of the document after submitting multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request the federal law enforcement agency. This copy is the first time since the 1990s that the manual has been made public. [More]

And the question there for our supposed "pro-gun president" is "Why?"

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Server

The EO builds upon the requirements in FOIA and requires each agency by February 28, 2020 to establish a single, searchable, indexed website that contains, or links to, all of the agencies' respective guidance documents currently in effect. [More]

Good luck with that.

[Via Roger J]

Teaching 'Gun Safety' by Breaking All the Rules

Moms Demand Action Caught Red-Handed Breaking Multiple NJ Gun Laws [More]

It figures they'd get an incompetent to teach the class. Let's hope the sanctimonious gunkapo gets the same treatment you or I would.

One addition for the pile-on I don't see here -- the Camden County Library System's "Code of Conduct" states:

The following activities are not allowed in Camden County Library System branches ... Carrying a weapon into the Library unless authorized by law. Any patron authorized to carry a weapon must notify Library staff that he/she is carrying a weapon in the Library. 

It might be worth a FOIA to the Haddon Township Police Department and the Camden County Sheriff's Office to see if they authorized it...

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Exclusive: Another ATF “Fast and Furious” weapon recovered in Mexico a decade after U.S. government allowed gun sales to cartels [More]

You ought to see the volume of non-responsive and redacted crap sent to Stephen Stamboulieh in response to the FOIA request he's representing Kent Terry and me on. I wonder how many people have been killed since we first filed it, and the truth is we will never know.

[Via Greg K]

In the Interest of Public Safety?

ATF Issues Guidance To Alabama FFLs Effective Immediately [More]

Here's the stated reason:

Because county sheriffs have issued CCP permits s without completing a full NICS check, firearms have been transferred to felons and other prohibited individuals in violation of federal law, thereby creating a substantial public safety concern. For this reason, the standards set forth in the Brady law require us to find that Alabama’s CCP permits no longer qualify as a NICS check alternative. In the interest of public safety, and effective immediately, FFLs in Alabama may no longer accept CCP permits as an alternative to a NICS check. Unless another exception applies, a NICS check must be conducted whenever you transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person even if the individual presents an unexpired CCP permit.

So, as with "bump stocks," they've reversed themselves again.

I'm trying to determine if they have evidence of widespread system "failures" to back this move or if they're simply making an excuse for another reversal. If you have knowledge that can shed light on this, please educate us in "comments."

UPDATE:

Federal officials did not name the sheriffs who issued the permits ... they have not released the names of those counties ... 

Sounds like it's time for another FOIA.

Meanwhile, the bottom line reflects the desired effect:

“It really doesn’t matter what we think,’’ Thomas said. “We’re going to do what we’re told to do.”

You remember that and we just may let you live.

A Commonsense Totalitarian Safety Law

I was going through an old FOIA response to our "bump stock" queries and came across a copy of a Dianne Feinstein press release that pretty much distills Democrat (look who signed on) "gun control" down to the basics:

The only reason to fire so many rounds so fast is to kill large numbers of people ... The bill also contains exceptions for lawful possession of these devices by law enforcement and the government.

Any questions?

Two-Point Conversion

The newest FBI FOIA production on Mandalay Bay has been posted. [More]

Point One: Bump stocks were found with the guns (but not on AR-10s), but nowhere does it say that any were actually used.

Point Two: Paddock made a repeated point of asking about "converting AR and AK type firearms into fully automatic."

This does nothing to clear things up. DOJ is still unwilling to commit to the devices being used as opposed to any of the guns being modified.

Why? Where is the inspection report?