November 23, 1993 Chief, Office of Policy National Security Agency/Central Security Service Fort George Meade, MD 20755-6000 ATTN: FOIA request Reference: CELLULAR ENCRYPTION Dear Sir or Madam: This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act [5 U.S.C. € 552(a)] on behalf of my client, Mr. John Gilmore. I write to request a copy of all agency records or portions thereof, in electronic or other form, which pertain, relate, or refer to encryption for cellular telephone communications. This request includes, but is not limited to records about: a standard known as the Cellular Message Encryption Algorithm ("CMEA"); NSA's involvement in the development of CMEA; NSA's assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, and technical features of CMEA; standards or technologies other than CMEA considered for cellular telephone communications encryption contacts, conversations, meetings or communications of any sort involving NSA employees and persons not employed by NSA regarding cellular telephone communications encryption. Mr. Gilmore is informed and believes that NSA employees have been involved in meetings with persons not employed by NSA, including persons outside of the U.S. government, about the CMEA standard, and he specifically asks that you disclose all agency records of any or all such meetings. As you know, the FOIA provides that an agency must make an initial determination of whether to comply with a FOIA request within ten working days of receiving the request. Your own regulations provide that Ò[t]he Chief, Office of Policy, shall notify the requester of his determination within 10 working days of his receipt of the request.Ó [32 C.F.R. € 299.4(b)]. If the records that you possess were originated or classified by another organization, I ask that your organization declassify them (if needed) and release them to me, as provided in the FOIA, within the statutory time limits. If there is a conflict between the statutory time limits and some regulation or policy that requires you refer the records, the statutory requirement takes precedence over any Executive-branch regulation, policy or practice. As you know, the FOIA provides that no more than an additional 10 working days be taken for such consultation. 5 U.S.C. € 552(a)(6)(B). If you do refer documents to any other agency, and they are not provided within the time limits, we intend to litigate on this point. We also remind you that the long-standing rule that the FOIA "makes no distinction between records maintained in manual and computer storage systems," Yeager v. D.E.A., 678 F.2d 315, 321 (D.C.Cir. 1982), has recently been amplified in Armstrong v. E.O.P., No 93-5002 (D.C. Cir., Aug. 13, 1993). Any paper print- outs of electronic records, such as e-mail, must include all information in the electronic record. Assuming that there would be no loss of releasable information, such as written comments made on paper print-outs, we therefore ask you to release all responsive electronic records in electronic, i.e., machine-readable, form. As you know, the FOIA provides that even if some requested material is properly exempted from mandatory disclosure, all segregable portions must be released. [5 U.S.C. € 552(b)] If any or all material covered by this request is withheld, please inform me of the specific exemptions that are being claimed, and mark all deletions to indicate the exemption(s) being claimed to authorize each individual withholding. If the (b)(3) exemption is claimed, please indicate the relevant withholding statute(s). In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to release information that may be technically exempt. As you know, the Attorney General on October 4, 1993, directed that agencies should administer the FOIA under a presumption of disclosure, and that information which need not be withheld should not be. Please do not delay processing because of uncertainty about the request. I have reasonably described the records sought. If you have any questions regarding this request, please telephone me at the above number, and we can discuss your questions. I also request that fees be waived because Mr. Gilmore is deemed a media requester by your agency for FOIA purposes. Should there be any problem in this regard, Mr. Gilmore promises to pay up to $1000 in fees, and you should therefore begin processing of this request without fee-related delays. As provided under the FOIA, I will expect a reply within ten (10) working days. Sincerely, Lee Tien Attorney at Law On behalf of Mr. John Gilmore