Dow Jones & Co. v. United States Department of Justice

880 F. Supp. 145, 24 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1139, 1995 WL 6155, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 5, 1995
Docket94 Civ. 0527 (SS)
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 880 F. Supp. 145 (Dow Jones & Co. v. United States Department of Justice) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dow Jones & Co. v. United States Department of Justice, 880 F. Supp. 145, 24 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1139, 1995 WL 6155, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101 (S.D.N.Y. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SOTOMAYOR, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (“Dow Jones”) and Robert L. Bartley (“Bart-ley”) seek disclosure, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, of two reports, one prepared by the United States Park Police (the “Park Police”) and the other by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the “FBI”), concerning the death of former deputy White House Counsel Vincent W. Foster, and a photocopy of a torn-up note (the “Note”), apparently written by Foster, and found in his briefcase several days after his death. The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has refused to release portions of the Reports or copies of the Note, maintaining that 5 U.S.C. §§ 552(b)(7)(A) & 552(b)(7)(C) exempt them from disclosure. Plaintiffs move, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, for partial summary judgment enjoining DOJ from withholding the requested documents on the ground that DOJ waived the claimed exemptions. DOJ cross-moves for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. For the reasons discussed below, plaintiffs’ motion is denied in part and granted in part, and defendant’s motion is granted in part and denied in part.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The relevant facts, set forth in a joint Statement of Stipulated Facts, dated April 18, 1994, are not in dispute. On or about *147 July 20, 1993, then deputy White House counsel Vincent W. Foster was found dead in Fort Marcy Park, McLean, Virginia. The Park Police began an investigation into the circumstances of Foster’s death. A week after Foster’s death, the White House announced that a torn-up note had been retrieved from Mr. Foster’s briefcase, and the following day the FBI commenced an investigation into the discovery and handling of the Note.

A. The DOJ Press Conference

At a press conference held on August 10, 1993 (the “Press Conference”), the then Deputy Attorney General announced that the Park Police and the FBI had provided him with completed reports (the “Reports”) of their respective investigations. The Chief of the Park Police, Robert Langston, and the Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s Washington, D.C. field office, Robert Bryant, who had both read all or part of their agencies’ respective Reports, acted as agency spokespersons and discussed the investigations and the conclusions reached. Among the information disclosed at the Press Conference was that:

1. based on the condition of the scene, the medical examiner’s findings and information gathered during its investigation, the Park Police had concluded that Mr. Foster’s death was a suicide;
2. the FBI had completed its investigation into the handling of the Note and determined that nothing illegal or improper had occurred;
3. the White House Counsel’s office had conducted the initial search of Mr. Foster’s office and set aside its initial invocation of the executive privilege after discussions with DOJ, ostensibly prompted by discussions between the Park Police and DOJ about the privilege issue;
4. there were no fingerprints on the Note when it was turned over to the FBI, only a smudged palm print, and the Park Police could not determine who had torn up the Note;
5. Mr. Foster’s widow told investigators that she had advised her husband to write a list of issues that had been troubling him;
6. only one gun was found near Mr. Foster’s body, and members of the Foster family told investigators they believed the gun to be Mr. Foster’s;
7. Mr. Foster had spoken with a doctor about depression, and anti-depressant medication had been prescribed, but investigators were unaware of any particular incident that might have prompted Mr. Foster to commit suicide.

Noting that the press “m[ight] want to see [the Note] so that [they] could describe what it looks like,” the Deputy Attorney General informed the audience that Carl Stern of DOJ would “have a copy available and anyone who want[ed] to see it [wa]s welcome to see it.” Transcript at 1. Thereafter, members of the media inspected the Note in Mr. Stern’s office; plaintiff Bartley viewed the Note in October 1993.

Prior to concluding the Press Conference, Mr. Stern stated that media members who wanted to obtain copies of the Reports should submit FOIA requests to DOJ. DOJ received plaintiffs’ request (the “FOIA Request”) for the Reports on August 18, 1993.

B. Appointment of Independent Counsel Fiske

On January 20, 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Robert Fiske independent counsel (the “Independent Counsel”) to investigate whether any individuals or entities had violated any federal laws relating in any way to the President or Mrs. Clinton’s relationship to Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan, Whitewater Development Corporation or Capital Management Services. The Independent Counsel was also authorized to investigate and prosecute any other violations of federal criminal law “developed during” his investigation of the above matters “and connected with or arising out of that investigation,” any violations of 28 U.S.C. § 1826, and any obstruction of justice or false testimony in connection therewith. Under this authority, the Independent Counsel’s investigation has inquired into the circumstances *148 surrounding Vincent Foster’s death and events occurring in the White House following his death, including the discovery and handling of the Note.

C.DOJ’s Denial of the FOIA Request

1. The Reports

As of January 28, 1994, plaintiffs had received no response to their FOIA Request, and thereafter, commenced this action. By letter dated February 28, 1994, Independent Counsel Fiske informed DOJ that public disclosure of all or any part of the Reports would substantially prejudice his investigation of the events covered therein and he claimed that the Reports were exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A) (“Exemption 7(A)”). Exemption 7(A) excludes from the FOIA’s mandatory disclosure requirements:

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.

Based on Independent Counsel Fiske’s assessment of the propriety of disclosing the Reports, DOJ, in its answer to the complaint, asserted that “the public release of all or any part of the records at this time would be detrimental to the investigation currently being conducted by” Independent Counsel Fiske.

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880 F. Supp. 145, 24 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1139, 1995 WL 6155, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dow-jones-co-v-united-states-department-of-justice-nysd-1995.