July 24, 2018

Dear Ms. Day and Mr. Hibbard:

Pursuant to Freedom of Information Act, I request access to and copies of all correspondence sent by Office of Legal Policy personnel to Brett M. Kavanaugh and all correspondence sent by Brett M. Kavanaugh to Office of Legal Policy personnel from January 20, 2001, to May 30, 2006.

This should include all memos and all e-mail, print or other correspondence and attachments including instances where he was merely carbon copied (CC’d).

For reference, Mr. Kavanaugh served in the White House from January 2001 to May 2006, where he served as Associate White House Counsel (2001-2003) and Staff Secretary (2003-2006), and where, while Associate Counsel, he served on the Judicial Selection Committee along with OLP staff, including Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh, among others.

As Fix the Court is a project of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and in light of the regular publication and dissemination activities in which it engages, I request that any fees that may be associated with this request be waived. This request is fundamentally not for commercial purposes, and the release of the information requested is not in Fix the Court’s financial interest, given that Fix the Court’s mission is to promote accountability from the federal judiciary overall and from its judges, justices and nominees, more specifically.

Consistent with fee waiver regulations, 5 U.S.C. §552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(III) and 28 C.F.R. §16.10(b)(6), Fix the Court is primarily engaged in disseminating information to the public, and it seeks public records as part of its process to educate the American about the court and its current and potential justices. As a means of achieving that goal, Fix the Court shares information with news media and issues press releases, original reports and research. As just one example, Fix the Court recently shared financial disclosure reports it obtained for Mr. Kavanaugh and other potential nominees to the Supreme Court appearing on the President’s short list (see NEW: Financial Disclosure Reports of the Supreme Court Finalists, Fix the Court, July 6, 2018, https://fixthecourt.com/2018/07/fdshortlisters/).

Given the recent announcement regarding Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §552(a)(6)(E)(i) and 28 C.F.R. §16.5(e)(1)(ii), I also request that DOJ expedite the processing of this request.

I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the information requested is urgently needed in order to inform the public concerning actual or alleged government activity. As you know, on July 9 President Trump announced that he has nominated Mr. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had previously stated that the Senate will act quickly to confirm the President’s nominee. The American public has a substantial and urgent need to have access to public records concerning Mr. Kavanaugh’s public service record to inform its understanding of the impending confirmation hearings.

Accordingly, Fix the Court’s request satisfies the criteria for expedition. Please inform me whether DOJ will comply with my request for expedited processing within 10 calendar days, as required by 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(E)(ii)(I) and 28 C.F.R. § 16.5(e)(4).

If possible, I would prefer to receive this information electronically via e-mail at gabe@fixthecourt.com. If records must be sent by mail, please send them to: Gabe Roth, Fix the Court, 1440 G St. NW, Ste. 801, Washington, D.C., 20005. If you have questions or need additional information from me, please feel free to call me at 202-780-4990. If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act. Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Gabe Roth
Executive Director
Fix the Court