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I don't think they are going to get very far with the lawsuit under FOIA. See https://www.foia.gov/faq.html#...

Exemption 1: Information that is classified to protect national security.

Exemption 4: Trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.

Exemption 7(E). Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions

So, beside the national security issue, the technique may be a trade secret of the contractor whom the FBI hired to pull off the hack. Next, the hack was clearly used as a technique for a law enforcement investigation.

If the government has records from 1957 and they are not Super-Secret-Never-Happened, they are available to the public through FOIA requests. However, there will be paperwork. Please bring your own spade and your own supply of pens with blue-or-black ink. Expect to have even simple requests lost, misfiled, and rejected because you used blue-or-black-ink instead of the clearly labeled chartreuse holographic ink required (only) for form 144A-44A-44. I am not allowed to wish you the best of luck. May god have mercy on your soul. http://www.foia.gov/report-mak...

Citation: http://www.foia.gov/how-to.htm...

In the US, FOIA requests can be denied on the basis of privacy violations (exemption 6), and law enforcement information (which this qualifies, I think) can be denied if its release could endanger the life or physical safety of any individual. http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#e...

Except that it is a state FOIA request; which may have the limits. The problem is most people are not sympathetic to strippers; and unlike gun owners who managed to get carry permit applications exempt, the lack a powerful lobby.

They complied with the request, they sent him the information, and they told him that he could get more. As part of a FOIA request, the agency can charge a fee, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#cost.

There is no initial fee required to submit a FOIA request, but the FOIA does provide for the charging of certain types of fees in some instances. For a typical requester the agency can charge for the time it takes to search for records and for duplication of those records. There is usually no charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first 100 pages of duplication.

They say that they will waive the fee if the information is in the public interest, and that the requester has no financial interest in the matter, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#fees. In short, this rule appears to exist to narrow the search.

You may request a waiver of fees. Under the FOIA fee waivers are limited to situations in which a requester can show that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

These rules are quite reasonable and appear to exist so that you can't just say "Tell me everything that the NSA knows about semantic processing" and expect the taxpayer to foot the bill. His request appears to be of the "tell me everything about this project" nature, which can be a time-consuming effort. They prepared a 7-page manuscript for him, with his/our taxpayer dollars. I find their actions reasonable.

They complied with the request, they sent him the information, and they told him that he could get more. As part of a FOIA request, the agency can charge a fee, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#cost.

There is no initial fee required to submit a FOIA request, but the FOIA does provide for the charging of certain types of fees in some instances. For a typical requester the agency can charge for the time it takes to search for records and for duplication of those records. There is usually no charge for the first two hours of search time or for the first 100 pages of duplication.

They say that they will waive the fee if the information is in the public interest, and that the requester has no financial interest in the matter, http://www.foia.gov/faq.html#fees. In short, this rule appears to exist to narrow the search.

You may request a waiver of fees. Under the FOIA fee waivers are limited to situations in which a requester can show that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

These rules are quite reasonable and appear to exist so that you can't just say "Tell me everything that the NSA knows about semantic processing" and expect the taxpayer to foot the bill. His request appears to be of the "tell me everything about this project" nature, which can be a time-consuming effort. They prepared a 7-page manuscript for him, with his/our taxpayer dollars. I find their actions reasonable.

The FOIA permits agencies to charge fees to cover these expenses (see foia.gov's description of costs).

When disclosure of the information is "in the public" interest, the agency can waive these fees.

Did the individual / organization submitting the FOIA request pay their taxes this or last year?

Yes?

The fees have been paid. Full stop.

The FOIA permits agencies to charge fees to cover these expenses (see foia.gov's description of costs).

When disclosure of the information is "in the public" interest, the agency can waive these fees.

Did the individual / organization submitting the FOIA request pay their taxes this or last year?

Yes?

The fees have been paid. Full stop.

Complying with FOIA requests can be expensive, especially for an organization like the NSA which will have to conduct a thorough review to make sure nothing's classified. The FOIA permits agencies to charge fees to cover these expenses (see foia.gov's description of costs). When disclosure of the information is "in the public" interest, the agency can waive these fees.

Complying with FOIA requests can be expensive, especially for an organization like the NSA which will have to conduct a thorough review to make sure nothing's classified. The FOIA permits agencies to charge fees to cover these expenses (see foia.gov's description of costs). When disclosure of the information is "in the public" interest, the agency can waive these fees.

Releasing classified documents to an uncleared foreign national is NOT "properly released", it's illegal and punishable by imprisonment and in some cases death. The illegality of his actions and the resulting punishment were VERY well known to him, as it is to every single soldier that holds his clearance level. There were proper ways for him to handle himself, which he was retrained on every single year, but he made very specific decisions to break serious laws. He knew what he was getting into.

If I found wrongdoing in the military, I'd get out of service and then use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to get the information I needed. That way, it would be publicly released and either reveal what was going on, or what the government was covering up.