On June 5, 2023, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) denied the Freedom of Information ( FOIA) appeal filed by Jimmy Tobias from a final determination letter issued by the Department of Energy's Office of Public Information (OPI). On February 28, 2023, OPI sent the Appellant a final Determination Letter informing the Appellant of the searches conducted and the searches did not yield any responsive documents. In a timely filed appeal, the Appellant argued that OPI should have conducted a proper search.
As an initial matter, OHA determined that OPI properly determined that the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (IN) customarily maintained intelligence reports of the nature that the Appellant was seeking, as well as any information pertaining to them. Regarding the searches that were conducted, OHA learned that searches had been conducted in the Headquarters and Laboratory ( HAL) network, as well as the dissemination platform that allows other members of the intelligence community to access DOE-IN products. DOE also learned that no searches were conducted for physical files, as all intelligence information pertaining to COVID-19 was maintained electronically.
Because OHA determined that an adequate search for responsive documents was conducted, OHA denied the appeal. (OHA Case No. FIA-23-0018)