Justice Dept. to Charge $373K for Records (of detainees)

[donsu]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=458913


Justice Department Says Group Must Pay $372,799 for Agency to Conduct Detainee Records Search


The Justice Department says a group that wants to see secret documents about the detention of people jailed after the Sept. 11 attacks first must pay nearly $373,000 to cover the cost of searching for the information.

And the advance payment won't guarantee anything that's found will be released.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, government agencies must provide the public with access to government documents, unless the information falls under certain exemptions. The first two hours of a search are free. Agencies then charge for searches, the rate dependent on the level of the employees who do the work.

People for the American Way Foundation, which sued for the records last year, accused the Justice Department of making the cost exceedingly high to deter its request.
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"The estimate of $372,999 is a minimum, representing 13,314 1/4 hours of search time at $28 an hour, the letter said."

what? did they stash the records on top of Mt. Shasta? in the Carlsbad Caverans? the sub-basement at Gitmo? or are they hidden under a few clicks of a mouse?

[aden_nak]

1. Thirteen thousand hours? "Freedom" of Information, such irony.

[BR_Parkway]

2. Dumbasses can't do math either - it's 13,321 hours (plus 22 mins)

[Roland99]

3. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REFERENCE GUIDE

http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/referenceguidemay99.htm#fees

There is no initial fee to file a FOIA request and, in the majority of requests made to the Justice Department, no fees are ever charged. By law, however, an agency is entitled to charge certain fees, which depend on the category of requester you fall into.

For the purposes of fees only, the FOIA divides requesters into three categories. Commercial requesters may be charged fees for searching for records, "processing" the records (i.e., reviewing them to determine the possible applicability of FOIA exemptions), and photocopying them. On the other hand, educational or noncommercial scientific institutions and representatives of the news media are charged only for photocopying expenses, after the first one hundred pages of copies. Requesters who do not fall into either of these two categories are not charged for processing; they are charged only for record searches and photocopying -- and there is no charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first one hundred pages of photocopies. The Justice Department charges ten cents per page for photocopying. In all cases, if the total fee does not exceed a minimum amount, currently $14, the Justice Department will not charge any fee at all.

You may always include in your request letter a specific statement limiting the amount that you are willing to pay in fees. If you do not do so, the Justice Department will assume that you are willing to pay fees of up to $25. If a component estimates that the total fees for processing your request will exceed $25, it will notify you in writing of the estimate and offer you an opportunity to narrow your request in order to reduce the fees. If you continue to want all of the records involved, you will be asked to express your commitment to pay the estimated fees and the processing of your request will be suspended until you agree to do so. You ordinarily will not be required to actually pay the fees until the records have been processed and are ready to be sent to you upon payment. If, however, you have failed to pay fees within thirty days of billing in the past, or if the estimated fees exceed $250, you may be required to pay the estimated fees in advance -- that is, before the records even are processed. If you agree to pay fees and then fail to do so within thirty days of billing, you may be charged interest on your overdue balance and the Justice Department will not proceed with any further requests from you until payment in full has been made. If you agree to pay fees for searching for records, be aware that you may be required to pay such fees even if the search does not locate any responsive records or, if records are located, even if they are withheld as entirely exempt.

[jody]

4. No problem, all we need is a congressperson to request the same

documents. I believe DoJ is obligated to provide them at no cost.

[ThorsHammer]

6. Good point, I'm sure one of them will do it

Probably someone like Byrd or Boxer, who have no problem taking an unpopular (with the admin) stance.

[madrchsod]

5. uncle dick has them in his

hole in the ground offices...