Sending a screenshot of my PACER account (See embedded image and/or attachment) - FOIA request submitted for information pertaining to the murder of SR.
https://imgur.com/a/SXhWg1P
Notice the status rebuttals from agencies below in photo - specifically the Executive Office of United States Attorneys invocation of FOIA exceptions. Last line sticks out - There is an open criminal investigation (by the DOJ, this means its been taken out of the hands of MPD originally assigned to investigate) and ongoing Grand Jury proceedings.
Also of note - the exceptions invoked to withhold info from FOIA request that are of note are as follows.
Exemption 7 Exemption 7 of the FOIA, as amended, protects from disclosure "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information
(A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings (This is basically a legal admission that there is an enforcement proceeding taking place by the DOJ behind the scenes).
(D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis (Someone is singing or has additional information they are providing to push this investigation forward).
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Mrs_Ogynist01 ago
Could this just mean "an open investigation" because his murder has not been solved? But then, why would there be a grand jury???
The1stLantern ago
If it were only open for murder, it would be in the hands of DCMPD. This proves DOJ has stepped in and supplanted MPD in charge of the investigation.
Good news considering how many times the cheif of MPD has been seen with characters like James Alefantis and how all the officers body cam footage disappeared..
Are_we__sure ago
How exactly does this prove your claim? It seems to me you are making an assumption here. The assumption being the grand jury that is open is a federal grand jury. Because they did not say it was a federal grand jury. I'm wondering if that's significant.
I have no expertise in FOIA docs or in local vs federal jurisdiction, but couldn't it be that MPD is still the lead agency in the case, but in some cases they reached to the FBI for assistance? In this hypothetical, there still would be correspondence related to Seth Rich with DOJ. My understanding is local police forces do reach out the FBI often and this is a reasonable hypothetical.
votesarestolen ago
The records are in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, indicating that it is a federal grand jury.
Are_we__sure ago
The FOIA request asked for any correspondence the the USAO might have. It did not ask if there was a federal grand jury. A reason they were a denied was "A grand jury" is open, but did not mention if this is a federal or local grand jury.
Unless anyone here is very good at Federal FOIA requests or the regular language used by the USAO, this remains an assumption.