Exhibit 6 — No. 1:22-cv-00028-HYJ-PJG (Dkt. 1-7, W.D. Mich.)

Summary

This exhibit is a Freedom of Information Act request dated January 26, 2021 that Tom Gantert, managing editor of Michigan Capital Confidential, sent to the U.S. Small Business Administration, filed on January 11, 2022 as Exhibit 6 (ECF No. 1-7) in No. 1:22-cv-00028-HYJ-PJG (W.D. Mich.). The request seeks the Paycheck Protection Program loan applications of the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and the Michigan Education Special Services Association (MESSA), both made through Comerica Bank, on April 29 and April 28, 2020. It also asks for any SBA records showing that the two groups, a 501(c)(5) and a 501(c)(9) organization, were eligible for PPP funding, whether SBA independently reviewed that eligibility, and any attestations of the non-profit status required. Gantert asks for a news-media fee waiver.

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Case 1:22-cv-00028-HYJ-PJG ECF No. 1-7, PagelD.60 Filed 01/11/22 Page 2 of 3

January 26, 2021

City, Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Office Via E-mail
U.S. Small Business Administration

409 Third St. SW, Eighth Floor

Washington, D.C., 20416

Attn: FOIA@sba.gov

To Whom it May Concern,
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I respectfully request the following records:

1. A copy of any applications for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans by the
Michigan Education Association (“MEA”) and Michigan Education Special Services
Association (“MESSA”). For your convenience, the following information may assist in
your search:

a. MEA’s NAICS number is 813930, and its underlying lender was Comerica Bank.
Its application was made on April 29, 2020. The MEA’s EIN is 39-0827000.

b. MESSA’s NAICS number is 524210, and its underlying lender was Comerica
Bank. Its application was made on April 28, 2020. MESSA’s EIN is 38-1641634.

2. Any documents in SBA’s possession which demonstrate that MEA and MESSA are
eligible for PPP funding, despite being 501(c)(5) and 501(c)(9) organizations respectively.

3. Any documents in SBA’s possession which demonstrate that MEA’s and MESSA’s
eligibility for PPP funding was not independently reviewed by the SBA.

4. Any documents provided to SBA that attest to MEA and MESSA maintain the non-profit
status required to be eligible for PPP funding.

Please provide these records in an electronic format, to the e-mail address listed below my
signature.

If the documents I have requested are not disclosable in their entirety, I request that you release all
nonexempt portions of the documents that may be segregated and all parts of the documents that
can be rendered disclosable by redaction. As to any portion of the documents that you withhold,
please state with specificity the legal and factual basis for withholding such portion, as well as the
nature of the information being withheld. Further, if no responsive documents exist for a particular
Case 1:22-cv-00028-HYJ-PJG ECF No. 1-7, PagelD.61 Filed 01/11/22 Page 3 of 3

portion of this request, please clearly identify which portions of this request have been denied for
that reason.

As a member of the news media, I respectfully request that search fees and review fees be waived.
If fees are not waived in their entirety, please contact me if the total cost of this request will exceed
$500.00. I am willing to pay appropriate statutory fees to the extent a fee exemption is not
applicable. I can be reached at 989-698-1955.

Sincerely,

Tom Gantert, Managing Editor of Michigan Capital Confidential
104 West Main Street
Gantert@mackinac.org

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SHA-256: 53048c2032c8e2d0e82a4c72a49cff9d9135230f77872f947d19ab1689d80cb7
Our copy: gov.uscourts.miwd.103602.1.7.pdf
Original: archive.org