Igoshev v. NSA, No. 17-1363, 2018 WL 2045530 (D. Md. May 1, 2018) (Hollander, J.)

Igoshev v. NSA, No. 17-1363, 2018 WL 2045530 (D. Md. May 1, 2018) (Hollander, J.)

Re:  Request for certain information concerning satellites

Disposition:  Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 1:  "Because the Sherman Declaration adequately demonstrates that the information sought by plaintiff is properly classified, [the court] agree[s] with the NSA that its denial of plaintiff's FOIA request falls under Exemption 1."  The court notes that "[defendant's] Declaration contains an averment [that]:  'Any disclosure of this information could be reasonably expected to harm national security because it would reveal NSA capabilities, activities, and intelligence priorities . . . and affect NSA's ability to counter threats to the national security of the United States.'"   "[It] also declared that the same reasoning applied to NSA's decision not to release information on particular individuals or organizations that may be subject to surveillance, such as plaintiff, because this information 'would provide [the United States'] adversaries with critical information about the capabilities and limitations of NSA, such as the type of communications that may be susceptible to NSA detection.'"  "[The court] also find[s] that the NSA's use of a Glomar response – the refusal to confirm or deny the existence of responsive records –to be proper in this case."  "As stated in [defendant's] Declaration, . . . confirming the existence or nonexistence of responsive records would reveal classified information."
   
• Exemption 3:  "[The court is] satisfied that the NSA's denial of plaintiff's FOIA request was appropriate under Exemption 3."  The court notes that "[t]he NSA first cites Section 6 of the National Security Agency Act of 1959, 50 U.S.C. § 3605."  The court finds that "[defendant's] Declaration affirms that the information requested by plaintiff concerns the NSA's sources and methods of obtaining signals intelligence, and is thus 'squarely within the scope' of this statute."