UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
JASON LEOPOLD,
Plaintiff,
v.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY,
Defendant.
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Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-00048 (JEB)
DEFENDANT’S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME
In this case, brought under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552,
plaintiff, Jason Leopold, seeks from the Central Intelligence Agency (“CIA”), records
constituting what plaintiff refers to as the “internal study,” an alleged report by the CIA
concerning its former detention and interrogation program commissioned by former CIA
Director Leon Panetta, which was referred to by Senator Mark Udall on December 17, 2013,
during the confirmation hearing for CIA General Counsel nominee Caroline Diane Krass.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. (6)(b)(1), the government, by and through undersigned counsel,
respectfully moves this Court for a one month enlargement of time, until September 29, 2014, to
process for release of any non-exempt information records constituting the “internal study.”
On May 29, 2014, this Court granted the CIA’s motion for extension of time to process
the so-called internal study until completion of the declassification review process for the
updated version of the executive summary, findings, and conclusions, of the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence (“SSCI”) Report concerning the CIA’s former rendition, detention
and interrogation (“RDI”) program, which was submitted for declassification by SSCI on April
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7, 2014. Based on the then-current status of the declassification process, as well as the Agency’s
expectations as to the time for coordination with other agencies, implementation of security
measures to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel and facilities overseas, and submission of the
declassified version to SSCI, on June 20, 2014, the CIA submitted a status report proposing no
later than August 29, 2014 for the completion date for the processing of the so-called internal
study. The Executive Branch worked expeditiously to complete its internal declassification
review process and submitted a redacted version of the executive summary, findings, and
conclusions of the Report to SSCI on August 1, 2014. Because the discussions with SSCI over
the redactions are still ongoing, however, and may not be completed by August 29, 2014, the
government respectfully requests a further extension of one month, until September 29, 2014, to
complete processing of the so-called internal study in this case. In compliance with LCvR 7(m),
undersigned counsel has discussed this motion with counsel for plaintiff, who does not oppose
the relief requested.
ARGUMENT
SSCI and the Executive Branch are currently engaged in discussions over the
declassification of the executive summary, findings, and conclusions of the SSCI Report. By
letter dated August 12, 2014, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Chairman of SSCI, wrote to Attorney
General Eric Holder, requesting that “the Department of Justice not release documents through
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation that relate to the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence (SSCI) Study of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program until parts of the
Study itself are declassified and publicly released by the Committee.” Aug. 12, 2014, letter from
Senator Dianne Feinstein to The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. (attached hereto as Exhibit 1). In
her letter, Senator Feinstein specifically mentioned by name the three FOIA cases – including
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this one – that seek the executive summary, findings and conclusions of the SSCI Report and
related records, including the so-called internal study at issue in this case. See id. (“Not only
would it be inappropriate for the Department to release documents related to the Committee’s
Study prior to the Committee’s own release, but the result of the ongoing negotiations will likely
positively affect the redactions in the documents being sought in the FOIA process in ACLU v.
CIA et al., 13-cv-1870, Leopold v. CIA, 14-cv-48, and Leopold v. CIA, 13-cv-1324”). Senator
Feinstein further requested that the Department of Justice seek an extension for completion of
processing for these records, “given that the declassification process for the Executive Summary
and Findings and Conclusions may still be ongoing on August 29, 2014.”
As Senator Feinstein notes, “the result of the ongoing negotiations will likely positively
affect the redactions” for these documents. Consistent with Senator Feinstein’s letter and as
previously explained by the government, much of the classified information in the so-called
internal study pertains to the same historical events that are addressed in the SSCI Report.
Treatment of this record will thus necessarily depend in part upon the results of the ongoing
discussions between the SCCI and Executive Branch regarding declassification of the SSCI
Report’s executive summary, findings, and conclusions. Once the declassification process for
the SSCI Report’s executive summary, findings, and conclusions is complete, the CIA will need
to conform the redactions in the related records to the newly-declassified information
accordingly, separate and apart from the issue of whether the “internal study” can be withheld in
full or on other non-classification grounds.
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