FOIA Officer
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Washington, D.C.

Subject: FOIA Request for Directory Records of Files and Folders

Dear FOIA Officer,

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552), I hereby request access to and copies of records detailing all files and folders, including subdirectories, recursively stored under the directory located at:

https://www.dni.gov/files

This request seeks records documenting the server structure, including file names, folder names, and associated metadata, to the extent such information exists and is retrievable.

Justification for Specificity and Non-Burdensome Nature of the Request

This request is specific and clear, seeking only an existing listing of the files and directories in a defined location. Such records are typically retrievable through standard server queries or directory listings, and this type of request has been deemed reasonable and within the scope of FOIA.

Case Law Support:

1. American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2782 v. U.S. Department of Commerce, 907 F.2d 203, 209 (D.C. Cir. 1990): The court held that an agency is not required to create a record in response to a FOIA request but must provide access to records as they exist. This request seeks records that agencies commonly maintain for system organization purposes.
2. Schladetsch v. HUD, No. 99-0175, 2000 WL 33372125 (D.D.C. Apr. 4, 2000): The court ruled that FOIA does not allow agencies to refuse to provide existing electronic information merely because it may require some technical effort. A directory listing is an inherently existing record within file management systems, making this request manageable.
3. National Security Counselors v. CIA, 960 F. Supp. 2d 101, 158 (D.D.C. 2013): FOIA requests seeking metadata or directory information have been upheld as reasonable and not unduly burdensome when the records exist in electronic formats.

Requested Format

If possible, I request that the information be provided in an electronic format (e.g., CSV or Excel) for ease of use. If such formats are not available, I will accept a text-based directory listing or other reasonably available formats.

Fees

I am willing to pay reasonable fees associated with processing this request. If the estimated fees exceed $50, please inform me beforehand. Additionally, as a requester, I ask for a waiver of fees under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii), as the disclosure of this information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to public understanding of governmental operations.

Timeline

Please acknowledge receipt of this request within 20 business days, as required by FOIA, and provide an estimated timeline for processing.

If you have any questions or require additional information to process this request, please contact me at the email or phone number provided above.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Stephen J. Bolin