Judicial Watch, Inc. v. OSC, No. 14-724, 2015 WL 150262 (D.D.C. Jan. 13, 2015) (Boasberg, J.)

Judicial Watch, Inc. v. OSC, No. 14-724, 2015 WL 150262 (D.D.C. Jan. 13, 2015) (Boasberg, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning investigation of former senior White House officials

Disposition: Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search:  "[T]he Court concludes that [OSC] has fulfilled its obligation under FOIA."  "Given [OSC's] extensive efforts, the Court believes that OSC has easily cleared the bar for an adequate search."  "It searched for responsive files in several formats, from several sources, in several locations, and it confirmed that these would be the only places that any responsive files might be found."
   
• Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records:  The court finds that "[p]laintiff's argument [contesting defendant's search] is nothing more than a red herring."  "An agency's failure to release documents it was never required to generate tells the Court nothing about the adequacy of its search."  Additionally, the court finds that, "[g]enerally, identifying a handful of documents that an agency failed to uncover does not, in itself, demonstrate that a search was inadequate."  "Plaintiff, furthermore, could not contend that FOIA requires the creation of documents . . . and [plaintiff] cannot use a FOIA suit to enforce its interpretation of OSC's obligations under the Hatch Act."