MEMORANDUM OPINION
Presently before the Court is defendant U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s
I. BACKGROUND
In early 2006 plaintiff CREW made a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request of defendant U.S. Department of Homeland Security seeking records of visits by eight named individuals
Plaintiff later identified other categories of records that could contain records responsive to plaintiffs request, including “Sensitive Security Records.” (2d Morris-sey Decl. ¶3 (Dec. 11, 2007).) Sensitive Security Records are created for “certain visitors, who are chosen ... based on certain details in their backgrounds and/or the circumstances of their visits.” (Id.) Sensitive Security Records include both personal information on the visitor, including criminal/security history, and specific circumstances surrounding the visit. (Id.) Defendant acknowledges the existence of one or more Sensitive Security Records but refuses to give any more information or release the records, citing security concerns. (Suppl. Mot. for Summary Judgment 10-19.)
II. DISCUSSION
A. Legal Standard for Summary Judgment
Summary judgment should be granted when “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.CivP. 56(c). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of production as to the absence of genuine issues of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,
In a FOIA case, summary judgment can be awarded based on information provided by the agency in affidavits or declarations. Military Audit Project v. Casey,
B. Adequacy of Defendant’s Original Search
Summary judgment cannot be granted as to the adequacy of defendant’s original search. In its order today partially denying defendant’s Motion [45] to Dismiss, the Court explained that defendant’s search cannot be considered adequate until it covers all records under agency “control” at the time of plaintiffs FOIA request. See Mem. Op. [57] (Sept. 30, 2008). This includes WAVES records which have been transferred to the White House and deleted internally. Because defendant’s search thus far has not covered those records, defendant cannot win as a matter of law and thus cannot obtain summary judgment.
C. Sensitive Security Records
Plaintiff claims that Sensitive Security Records are categorically protected from disclosure by FOIA Exemptions 2, 7(E), and 7(F). Defendant also makes a “Glo-mar response,” refusing to reveal basic details about responsive Sensitive Security Records on the premise that doing so would necessarily reveal information protected by exemptions.
The Court agrees that defendant’s redaction would be improper. Defendant justifies the redaction with FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C), which protect personal privacy. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) (protecting “personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”); 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C) (protecting law enforcement records for which disclosure “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”). Defendant claims that there is “little public interest” in that information, but that its release could “caus[e] [those persons] public attention or subject [them] to unnecessary and unwanted conduct.” (Id. ¶ 30.) Setting aside the statement’s internal inconsistency, there does seem to be public interest in this information. Requester names would shed light on why the visitor came to the White House, which is exactly the type of information plaintiff seeks. Defendant recognizes this in its reply: “[R]eleasing the identity of the person requesting access would enable CREW to ascertain information about the person visited, because the name of a staff member can usually be tied to a specific senior government official for whom the staff member works.” (Reply 20 n. 13.) The claimed FOIA Exemptions protect only against “unwarranted” invasions of personal privacy. Given the public interest in the information and the relatively minor privacy invasion associated with this disclosure, the Court does not consider release of the requester’s name to be within the scope of either Exemption 6 or Exemption 7(C).
III. CONCLUSION
Defendant’s motion for summary judgment shall be denied. Defendant has not made an adequate search, and defendant’s rationales for its claimed exemptions for Sensitive Security Records are unconvincing.
A separate order shall issue this date.
Notes
. Defendant’s Motion [75] was filed under Civil Action No. 06-883. No. 06-883 was then consolidated with No. 06-310 and, pursuant to the consolidation order, the opposition and reply were filed under No. 06-310. But because the motion was filed prior to consolidation, the filings only address plaintiff Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and defendant U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
. The eight individuals were Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon, Neil Volz, Tony Rudy, Shawn Vassell (as spelled in plaintiff's request), Kevin Ring, Edwin Buckham, and Patrick Pizzella.
. In a Glomar response, an agency typically refuses to confirm or deny the existence of responsive records. See Phillippi v. CIA,
. Defendant's arguments here differ from those in the other motion in one ultimately insignificant way. Defendant cites Schwarz v. U.S. Department of Treasury,
