1030 15th Street NW, Suite B255, Washington, DC 20005 | AmericanOversight.org
March 20, 2020
VIA EMAIL
FOIA Section
Office of General Counsel
Room 924
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Department of Justice
320 First Street NW
Washington, DC 20534
Re: Expedited Freedom of Information Act Request
Dear FOIA Officer:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, and the
implementing regulations of your agency, American Oversight makes the following
request for records.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and the disease it causes, COVID-19,
has been declared a public health emergency at both the national and international levels.
1
Since late 2019, the virus has spread to dozens of countries, sickened tens of thousands of
people, and resulted in thousands of deaths.
2
Populations in prisons
3
and detention
centers
4
are especially vulnerable, due to their poor access to healthcare, lack of essential
supplies, and close quarters. This is a rapidly evolving situation that is demanding
1
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Summary, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
AND PREVENTION (Updated Mar. 15, 2020), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/summary.html.
2
Coronavirus Live Updates: W.H.O. Says Covid-19 Has Higher Fatality Rate Than the Flu,
N.Y. TIMES, Mar. 4, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/world/coronavirus-
news.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-
coronavirus&variant=show®ion=TOP_BANNER&context=storyline_menu.
3
German Lopez, A Coronavirus Outbreak in Jails or Prisons Could Turn into a Nightmare, VOX
(Mar. 17, 2020, 8:30 AM), https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
politics/2020/3/17/21181515/coronavirus-covid-19-jails-prisons-mass-incarceration.
4
Abigail Hauslohner, et al, Coronavirus Could Pose Serious Concern in ICE Jails, Immigration
Courts, WASH. POST (Mar. 12, 2020, 6:38 PM),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/coronavirus-immigration-
jails/2020/03/12/44b5e56a-646a-11ea-845d-e35b0234b136_story.html.
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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coordinated attention and action across the federal government. Yet the Trump
administration, so far, has failed to ensure timely availability of testing kits for healthcare
providers,
5
prevented health experts from speaking about the growing crisis,
6
and removed
information on the spread of the virus from public health resources.
7
Furthermore, the
Bureau of Prisons announced on March 13, 2020 that it would be suspending visitation,
including most legal visits, exacerbating existing concerns about the health and safety of
incarcerated individuals as well as the Bureau’s staff.
8
American Oversight seeks records with the potential to shed light on how the
administration is handling this public health emergency.
Requested Records
American Oversight seeks expedited review of this request for the reasons identified
below and requests that your agency produce the following records as soon as practicable,
and at least within twenty business days:
All email communications (including email messages, complete email chains,
email attachments, calendar invitations, and calendar invitation attachments) sent
by (A) the officials in Column A, to (B) the officials listed in Column B, in the
chart below.
Column A
Column B
a. Director, Michael Carvajal
b. Deputy Director, Thomas
Kane
c. Assistant Director for Health
Services Division, Nicole
English
d. Assistant Director for
Program Review Division,
Louis Milusnic
a. Wellpath/Correct Care Solutions
(@wellpath.us or
@correctcaresolutions.com)
b. GEO Group (@geogroup.com or
@wearegeo.com)
c. Management and Training
Corporation (@mtctrains.com)
d. Armor Correctional Health
(@armorcorrectional.com)
5
Alice Park, Responding to Coronavirus Testing Problems, U.S. Government Expands Number of
Labs That Can Run Tests, TIME (Mar. 2, 2020, updated 1:50 PM EST),
https://time.com/5793605/coronavirus-testing-united-states/.
6
Michael Shear & Maggie Haberman, Pence Will Control All Coronavirus Messaging from Health
Officials, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 27, 2020,
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/us/politics/us-coronavirus-pence.htm.
7
Brianna Ehley, Trump’s Team Shifts Tone from Preventing Coronavirus to Containing It,
POLITICO (Mar. 2, 2020, 7:52 PM), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/02/trump-
coronavirus-pence-119051.
8
Danielle Ivory, ‘We Are Not a Hospital:’ A Prison Braces for the Coronavirus, N.Y. TIMES, Mar.
17, 2020 (updated Mar. 18, 2020),
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/us/coronavirus-prisons-jails.html.
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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e. Acting Assistant Director for
Correctional Programs
Division, Andre Matevousian
f. Chief Executive Officer of
Federal Prison Industries,
Patrick O’Connor
g. Acting Director of the
National Institute of
Corrections, Shaina Vanek
h. National Institute of
Corrections Prison Divisions
Chief, Ronald Taylor
i. National Institute of
Corrections Jails Division
Chief, Stephen Amos
j. Medical Director, Jeffrey
Allen
e. Corizon (@corizonhealth.com)
f. Wexford Health Sources
(@wexfordhealth.com)
g. NaphCare (@naphcare.com)
h. Centene Corporation
(@centene.com)
i. CoreCivic (@corecivic.com or
@cca.com)
j. Securus Technologies/JPay
(@securustechnologies.com or
@jpay.com)
k. Global Tel Link (@gtl.net)
l. CorrLinks (@corrlinks.com)
m. Attenti Group
(@attentigroup.com)
n. Ballard Partners (ballardfl.com or
@ballardpartners.com)
Please provide all responsive records from February 24, 2020, through the date of
the search.
American Oversight has limited its request to sent messages to reduce the volume
of potentially responsive records. American Oversight still requests complete email
chains. So, for example, if a government official sent a response to an incoming
message containing one of the key terms above, the email chain containing the
initially received message and the response is responsive to this request.
Fee Waiver Request
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii) and your agency’s regulations, American
Oversight requests a waiver of fees associated with processing this request for records.
The subject of this request concerns the operations of the federal government, and the
disclosures will likely contribute to a better understanding of relevant government
procedures by the general public in a significant way. Moreover, the request is primarily
and fundamentally for non-commercial purposes.
American Oversight requests a waiver of fees because disclosure of the requested
information is “in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to
public understanding of operations or activities of the government.”
9
The public has a
significant interest in the federal government’s response to the coronavirus. Records with
the potential to shed light on this matter would contribute significantly to public
understanding of operations of the federal government, including the actions taken to
ensure that the coronavirus does not spread within prisons and to protect the civil rights
9
5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii).
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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of incarcerated individuals. American Oversight is committed to transparency and makes
the responses agencies provide to FOIA requests publicly available, and the public’s
understanding of the government’s activities would be enhanced through American
Oversight’s analysis and publication of these records.
This request is primarily and fundamentally for non-commercial purposes.
10
As a
501(c)(3) nonprofit, American Oversight does not have a commercial purpose and the
release of the information requested is not in American Oversight’s financial interest.
American Oversight’s mission is to promote transparency in government, to educate the
public about government activities, and to ensure the accountability of government
officials. American Oversight uses the information gathered, and its analysis of it, to
educate the public through reports, press releases, or other media. American Oversight
also makes materials it gathers available on its public website and promotes their
availability on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.
11
American Oversight has also demonstrated its commitment to the public disclosure of
documents and creation of editorial content through numerous substantive analyses
posted to its website.
12
Examples reflecting this commitment to the public disclosure of
documents and the creation of editorial content include the posting of records related to
an ethics waiver received by a senior Department of Justice attorney and an analysis of
what those records demonstrated regarding the Department’s process for issuing such
waivers;
13
posting records received as part of American Oversight’s “Audit the Wall”
project to gather and analyze information related to the administration’s proposed
construction of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, and analyses of what those records
reveal;
14
posting records regarding potential self-dealing at the Department of Housing &
10
See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii).
11
American Oversight currently has approximately 15,500 page likes on Facebook and
102,300 followers on Twitter. American Oversight, FACEBOOK,
https://www.facebook.com/weareoversight/ (last visited Mar. 20, 2020); American
Oversight (@weareoversight), TWITTER, https://twitter.com/weareoversight (last visited
Mar. 20, 2020).
12
News, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT, https://www.americanoversight.org/blog.
13
DOJ Records Relating to Solicitor General Noel Francisco’s Recusal, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/document/doj-civil-division-response-noel-francisco-
compliance; Francisco & the Travel Ban: What We Learned from the DOJ Documents, AMERICAN
OVERSIGHT, https://www.americanoversight.org/francisco-the-travel-ban-what-we-
learned-from-the-doj-documents.
14
See generally Audit the Wall, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/audit-the-wall; see, e.g., Border Wall
Investigation Report: No Plans, No Funding, No Timeline, No Wall, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/border-wall-investigation-report-no-plans-no-
funding-no-timeline-no-wall.
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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Urban Development and related analysis;
15
posting records and analysis relating to the
federal government’s efforts to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia;
16
posting records
and analysis regarding the Department of Justice’s decision in response to demands from
Congress to direct a U.S. Attorney to undertake a wide-ranging review and make
recommendations regarding criminal investigations relating to the President’s political
opponents and allegations of misconduct by the Department of Justice itself and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
17
Accordingly, American Oversight qualifies for a fee waiver.
Application for Expedited Processing
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(E)(1) and 45 C.F.R. § 5.27(b), American Oversight
requests that your agency expedite the processing of this request.
I certify to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief that the information
requested is urgently needed in order to inform the public concerning actual or alleged
government activity, and American Oversight is primarily engaged in disseminating the
information it received from public records requests to the public.
Recent reporting demonstrates that there is clearly an urgent need to inform the public
regarding the matters that are the subject of American Oversight’s FOIA request. First,
American Oversight has requested records with the potential to shed light on the steps the
administration has undertaken to manage a public health emergency at both national and
international levels.
Because the virus has spread rapidly and has already killed dozens of
people in the United States,
18
there is plainly an urgent need to inform the public about
administration actions regarding decisions about the virus in the United States, as cases
have now appeared nationwide and the reach of the virus grows wider on a daily basis.
The exceptionally widespread news reporting on coronavirus demonstrates that the public
urgently needs information about the federal government’s efforts and policies concerning
the subject matter of this request.
19
Second, factual developments in the last few weeks
15
Documents Reveal Ben Carson Jr.’s Attempts to Use His Influence at HUD to Help His Business,
AMERICAN OVERSIGHT, https://www.americanoversight.org/documents-reveal-ben-carson-
jr-s-attempts-to-use-his-influence-at-hud-to-help-his-business.
16
Investigating the Trump Administration’s Efforts to Sell Nuclear Technology to Saudi Arabia,
AMERICAN OVERSIGHT, https://www.americanoversight.org/investigating-the-trump-
administrations-efforts-to-sell-nuclear-technology-to-saudi-arabia.
17
Sessions’ Letter Shows DOJ Acted On Trump’s Authoritarian Demand to Investigate Clinton,
AMERICAN OVERSIGHT, https://www.americanoversight.org/sessions-letter.
18
Coronavirus Live Updates, supra note 2.
19
Id.; Adam Taylor et al., Live Updates: Italy to Close Schools as Coronavirus Death Toll Passes
100, L.A. County Declares Health Emergency as Cases Mount, WASH. POST (Mar 4., 2020, 2:38
PM EST), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/04/coronavirus-live-
updates/; Holly Yan & Kristina Sgueglia, New York Now Has 6 Coronavirus Cases and City
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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have demonstrated a series of government failures to appropriately handle decisions
regarding the virus, including failures in the rollout of coronavirus tests and overly
restrictive testing protocols,
20
as well as an effort by government officials to minimize
press coverage and reduce public information
21
about the testing of coronavirus cases.
There is also widespread public concern that public health officials are being prevented
from speaking about the coronavirus more broadly
22
—information that is critical for
educating the public on steps to contain the future spread of the virus and mitigate the
outbreaks that have already occurred. Finally, federal government has recognized that the
densely packed nature of facilities such as prisons and detention centers “creates a risk of
infection and transmission for inmates and staff,” and thus special attention to prevention
and control in these facilities is warranted.
23
Moreover, I certify to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief that there
is an urgent need to inform the public about decisions regarding coronavirus. American
Oversight’s request seeks information that can shed light on how and why decisions have
been made—including whether and to what extent the Bureau of Prisons has enacted
policies to prevent or slow the spread of the virus within its facilities, whether the Bureau
has sought to procure testing kits and its approach for disseminating kits to its facilities,
the criteria for giving a test to a patient, how information is disseminated about any
ongoing tests and presumptive positive cases within correctional facilities, what
protections have been offered to incarcerated individuals to account for their exceptionally
high risk of infection and reduced access to external communication, what planning is
being done to prepare for further spread to vulnerable populations, and what decisions
have been made regarding emergency planning and work with external organizations and
contractors. The public urgently needs the information to understand the extent of the
growing health crisis and make decisions that promote public health and mitigate the
spread of the disease.
I further certify that American Oversight is primarily engaged in disseminating
information to the public. American Oversight’s mission is to promote transparency in
government, to educate the public about government activities, and to ensure the
accountability of government officials. Similar to other organizations that have been found
to satisfy the criteria necessary to qualify for expedition,
24
American Oversight “‘gathers
information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn
the raw material into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience.’”
25
Officials Are Scrambling to Find Who Else Might Have It, CNN HEALTH (Mar. 4, 2020 12:06 PM
EST), https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/04/health/new-york-coronavirus-cases/index.html.
20
Park, supra note 5.
21
Ehley, supra note 7.
22
Shear & Haberman, supra note 6.
23
Ivory, supra note 8; see also Lopez, supra note 3.
24
See ACLU v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 321 F. Supp. 2d 24, 30–31 (D.D.C. 2004); EPIC v. Dep’t of
Defense, 241 F. Supp. 2d 5, 15 (D.D.C. 2003).
25
ACLU, 321 F. Supp. 2d at 29 n.5 (quoting EPIC, 241 F. Supp. 2d at 11).
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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American Oversight uses the information gathered, and its analysis of it, to educate the
public through reports, press releases, and other media. American Oversight also makes
materials it gathers available on its public website and promotes their availability on social
media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.
26
As discussed previously, American
Oversight has demonstrated its commitment to the public disclosure of documents and
creation of editorial content.
27
Accordingly, American Oversight’s request satisfies the criteria for expedition.
Guidance Regarding the Search & Processing of Requested Records
In connection with its request for records, American Oversight provides the following
guidance regarding the scope of the records sought and the search and processing of
records:
§ Please search all locations and systems likely to have responsive records, regardless
of format, medium, or physical characteristics. For instance, if the request seeks
“communications,” please search all locations likely to contain communications,
including relevant hard-copy files, correspondence files, appropriate locations on
hard drives and shared drives, emails, text messages or other direct messaging
systems (such as iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal, or Twitter direct
26
American Oversight currently has approximately 15,500 page likes on Facebook and
102,300 followers on Twitter. American Oversight, FACEBOOK,
https://www.facebook.com/weareoversight/ (last visited Mar. 20, 2020); American
Oversight (@weareoversight), TWITTER, https://twitter.com/weareoversight (last visited
Mar. 20, 2020).
27
See generally News, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT, https://www.americanoversight.org/blog; see,
e.g., DOJ Civil Division Response Noel Francisco Compliance, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/document/doj-civil-division-response-noel-francisco-
compliance; Francisco & the Travel Ban: What We Learned from the DOJ Documents, AMERICAN
OVERSIGHT, https://www.americanoversight.org/francisco-the-travel-ban-what-we-
learned-from-the-doj-documents; Audit the Wall, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/audit-the-wall; Border Wall Investigation
Report: No Plans, No Funding, No Timeline, No Wall, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/border-wall-investigation-report-no-plans-no-
funding-no-timeline-no-wall; Documents Reveal Ben Carson Jr.’s Attempts to Use His Influence at
HUD to Help His Business, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/documents-reveal-ben-carson-jr-s-attempts-to-use-
his-influence-at-hud-to-help-his-business; Investigating the Trump Administration’s Efforts to
Sell Nuclear Technology to Saudi Arabia, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/investigating-the-trump-administrations-efforts-to-
sell-nuclear-technology-to-saudi-arabia; Sessions’ Letter Shows DOJ Acted On Trump’s
Authoritarian Demand to Investigate Clinton, AMERICAN OVERSIGHT,
https://www.americanoversight.org/sessions-letter.
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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messages),voicemail messages, instant messaging systems such as Lync or ICQ,
and shared messages systems such as Slack.
§ In conducting your search, please understand the terms “record,” “document,” and
“information” in their broadest sense, to include any written, typed, recorded,
graphic, printed, or audio material of any kind. We seek records of any kind,
including electronic records, audiotapes, videotapes, and photographs, as well as
letters, emails, facsimiles, telephone messages, voice mail messages and
transcripts, notes, or minutes of any meetings, telephone conversations or
discussions.
§ Our request for records includes any attachments to those records or other
materials enclosed with those records when they were previously transmitted. To
the extent that an email is responsive to our request, our request includes all prior
messages sent or received in that email chain, as well as any attachments to the
email.
§ Please search all relevant records or systems containing records regarding agency
business. Do not exclude records regarding agency business contained in files,
email accounts, or devices in the personal custody of your officials, such as
personal email accounts or text messages. Records of official business conducted
using unofficial systems or stored outside of official files are subject to the Federal
Records Act and FOIA.
28
It is not adequate to rely on policies and procedures that
require officials to move such information to official systems within a certain
period of time; American Oversight has a right to records contained in those files
even if material has not yet been moved to official systems or if officials have, by
intent or through negligence, failed to meet their obligations.
29
§ Please use all tools available to your agency to conduct a complete and efficient
search for potentially responsive records. Agencies are subject to government-wide
requirements to manage agency information electronically,
30
and many agencies
have adopted the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Capstone program, or similar policies. These systems provide options for searching
emails and other electronic records in a manner that is reasonably likely to be
28
See Competitive Enter. Inst. v. Office of Sci. & Tech. Policy, 827 F.3d 145, 149–50 (D.C.
Cir. 2016); cf. Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Kerry, 844 F.3d 952, 955–56 (D.C. Cir. 2016).
29
See Competitive Enter. Inst. v. Office of Sci. & Tech. Policy, No. 14-cv-765, slip op. at 8
(D.D.C. Dec. 12, 2016).
30
Presidential Memorandum—Managing Government Records, 76 Fed. Reg. 75,423
(Nov. 28, 2011), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-
office/2011/11/28/presidential-memorandum-managing-government-records; Office of
Mgmt. & Budget, Exec. Office of the President, Memorandum for the Heads of Executive
Departments & Independent Agencies, “Managing Government Records Directive,”
M-12-18 (Aug. 24, 2012), https://www.archives.gov/files/records-mgmt/m-12-18.pdf.
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
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more complete than just searching individual custodian files. For example, a
custodian may have deleted a responsive email from his or her email program, but
your agency’s archiving tools may capture that email under Capstone. At the same
time, custodian searches are still necessary; agencies may not have direct access to
files stored in .PST files, outside of network drives, in paper format, or in personal
email accounts.
§ In the event some portions of the requested records are properly exempt from
disclosure, please disclose any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions of the
requested records. If a request is denied in whole, please state specifically why it is
not reasonable to segregate portions of the record for release.
§ Please take appropriate steps to ensure that records responsive to this request are
not deleted by the agency before the completion of processing for this request. If
records potentially responsive to this request are likely to be located on systems
where they are subject to potential deletion, including on a scheduled basis, please
take steps to prevent that deletion, including, as appropriate, by instituting a
litigation hold on those records.
Conclusion
If you have any questions regarding how to construe this request for records or believe
that further discussions regarding search and processing would facilitate a more efficient
production of records of interest to American Oversight, please do not hesitate to contact
American Oversight to discuss this request. American Oversight welcomes an opportunity
to discuss its request with you before you undertake your search or incur search or
duplication costs. By working together at the outset, American Oversight and your agency
can decrease the likelihood of costly and time-consuming litigation in the future.
Where possible, please provide responsive material in an electronic format by email.
Alternatively, please provide responsive material in native format or in PDF format on a
USB drive. Please send any responsive material being sent by mail to American Oversight,
1030 15th Street NW, Suite B255, Washington, DC 20005. If it will accelerate release of
responsive records to American Oversight, please also provide responsive material on a
rolling basis.
We share a common mission to promote transparency in government. American Oversight
looks forward to working with your agency on this request. If you do not understand any
part of this request, please contact Christine Monahan at [email protected] or
202.869.5244. Also, if American Oversight’s request for expedition is not granted or its
DOJ-BOP-20-0637
- 10 -
request for a fee waiver is not granted in full, please contact us immediately upon making
such a determination.
Sincerely,
Austin R. Evers
Executive Director
American Oversight
