FOIA request (Exhibit 1 to complaint) — APT v. HHS (N.D. Ga.)

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EXHIBIT 1 
Plaintiff’s February 4 FOIA Request 
 
 

107 S. West St., Ste 442
 Alexandria, VA 22314
  
AmericansforPublicTrust.org
202.656.5175
www.AmericansforPublicTrust.org | @APublicTrust
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
February 4, 2020 
 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
Attn: FOIA Office, MS-D54 
1600 Clifton Road, N.E. 
Atlanta, GA 30333 
 
Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request 
 
To Whom It May Concern: 
 
I submit this request for records pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552 and 
45 C.F.R. § 5.1 et seq. I request that a copy of the records detailed below be provided to me. I do not wish to 
inspect the records first. 
 
I seek any and all records, as that term is defined under FOIA (5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(2)), and applicable case law 
(see, e.g., Forsham v. Harris, 455 U.S. 169, 193 (1980)), existing in any format whatsoever, including, but not 
limited to, written correspondence, email correspondence, records of telephone correspondence, records 
pertaining to in-person meetings, calendar or scheduling entries, videotapes, photographs, computer print-
outs, telephone messages, or voice mail messages between January 15, 2021 to the present. 
 
In particular, I request the following: 
 
• 
Emails, communications, correspondence, and/or talking points describing CDC guidance for the 
reopening of schools, during the above stated time period, in the following CDC staff email 
accounts: 
o Rochelle Walensky (Director) 
o Anne Schuchat (Principal Deputy Director) 
o Christopher Jones (Associate Director for Communication) 
o Robin Ikeda (Associate Director for Policy and Strategy) 
o Mitchell Wolfe (Chief Medical Officer) 
o Sherri Berger (Chief of Staff) 
o Jeff Reczek (Director, Washington Office) 
 
Notice is hereby given that I am requesting these records as an “other requester” within the meaning of 5 
U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(III) and 45 C.F.R. §5.53(c).  
 
Notice is hereby given that I am willing to pay the appropriate fees incurred and assessed for the document 
search and duplication of the agency records responsive to this request. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(III); see 
also 45 C.F.R. §5.53(c). 
 
Please search for responsive records regardless of format, medium, or physical characteristics. I request that 
responsive records be produced in native format, or the format most felicitous to an expedited production. 
Upon receipt of this request, please take all reasonable steps to preserve relevant public records while the 
request is pending. 
 
If it is your position that any portion of the requested records is exempt from disclosure, I request that you 
provide a Vaughn index of those documents. See Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973). As you are 
aware, a Vaughn index must describe each document claimed as exempt with sufficient specificity “to permit a 

www.AmericansforPublicTrust.org | @APublicTrust
 
reasoned judgment as to whether the material is actually exempt under FOIA.” Founding Church of Scientology v. 
Bell, 603 F.2d 945, 959 (D.C. Cir. 1979). Moreover, the Vaughn index must “describe each document or 
portion thereof withheld, and for each withholding it must discuss the consequences of supplying the sought-
after information.” King v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 830 F.2d 210, 223–24 (D.C. Cir. 1987). 
 
Pursuant to regulation, please clearly delineate any and all redactions in such a manner so that the justification 
for each redaction is apparent. See 45 C.F.R. § 5.28(c). If it is your position that a document contains non-
exempt segments and that those non-exempt segments are so dispersed throughout the documents as to 
make segregation impossible, please state what portion of the document is non-exempt, and how the material 
is dispersed through the document. Mead Data Cent. v. U.S. Dep’t of the Air Force, 455 F.2d 242, 261 (D.C. Cir. 
1977). Claims of non-segregability must be made with the same detail as required for claims of exemptions in 
a Vaughn index. If a request is denied in whole, please state specifically that it is not reasonable to segregate 
portions of the record. 
 
Please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at (202) 656-5175 or by email at 
info@americansforpublictrust.org. If records are available in electronic format please email the documents to 
info@americansforpublictrust.org. If not, please send the requested documents to: 
 
Americans for Public Trust 
107 South West Street, Suite 442 
Alexandria, VA 22314 
 
 
Because of the time-sensitive nature of this request, I ask that you strictly comply with the 20-day time limit 
established by FOIA and applicable HHS regulations. See 5 U.S.C. § (a)(6)(A); 45 C.F.R. § 5.24(b). Please be 
advised that once this 20-day period has expired, you are deemed to have constructively denied this request, 
and I will consider the internal appeals process to be constructively exhausted. See, e.g., Citizens For Ethics And 
Responsibility In Government v. Fed. Election Comm’n, 711 F.3d 180 (D.C. Cir. 2013). I also respectfully request 
that documents be made available as soon as they are located and reviewed via a rolling production. I will 
undertake to pay any and all reasonable increased costs incurred as part of a rolling production. 
 
Sincerely,  
 
Nathaniel C. Serslev

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