Case 1:12-cv-00127-BJR Document 40 Filed 03/04/15 Page 14 of 22
have acted “within [their] principal function of law enforcement, rather than merely engaging in
a general monitoring of private individuals’ activities.” 9 Pratt v. Webster, 673 F.2d at 420.
Moreover, there is no support for the notion that Defendants’ investigation into the
unauthorized publishing of classified material on WikiLeaks is pretext and that Defendants are
conducting illegal investigations of innocent WikiLeaks supporters. The FBI specifically states
that it “is not investigating individuals who simply support or have an interest in WikiLeaks,”
and “does not . . . maintain lists of individuals who have demonstrated support for or interest in
WikiLeaks, and thus has no records responsive to this portion of Plaintiff’s request.” Hardy 1st
Decl. ¶ 19 n.3; see also Hardy 4th Decl. ¶¶ 7-8. Moreover, CRM’s in camera submission
demonstrates to the Court that its responsive documents do not pertain to an investigation of
individuals who “simply support” WikiLeaks. See Defs.’ Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 6. After reviewing
the Defendants’ declarations and exhibits attached thereto, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s
speculation fails to rebut the presumption of good faith that is afforded to agency declarations.
See Nat’l Whistleblower Ctr., 849 F. Supp. 2d at 22 (quoting SafeCard Servs., Inc., 926 F.2d at
1200 (D.C. Cir. 1991)) (internal quotation marks omitted) (stating that the presumption of good
faith afforded to agencies’ sworn statements “cannot be rebutted by purely speculative claims
about the existence and discoverability of other documents”).
2. Interference with Enforcement Proceedings
To make a successful Exemption 7(A) claim, the government must further “demonstrate
that disclosure (1) could reasonably be expected to interfere with (2) enforcement proceedings
9
The D.C. Circuit has recently clarified that records are “compiled for law enforcement purposes”
not only when they are related to an investigation and prosecution after a violation of the law, but also
when the records are generated in an effort to “prevent criminal activity and to maintain security.” Elec.
Privacy Info. Ctr. v. United States Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 2043, at *8-9 (D.C.
Cir. 2015).
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