FIA-24-0030 - In the Matter of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

On June 27, 2024, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) denied the Freedom of Information ( FOIA) Appeal filed by Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (Appellant) from a determination letter issued by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC). On appeal, the Appellant challenged the decision to withhold information from the responsive records pursuant to Exemption 5. After reviewing the responsive documents from EMCBC, we found that the documents were appropriately redacted because they were pre-decisional and deliberative. Therefore, we denied the appeal. (OHA Case No . FIA-24-0030)