FIA-24-0025 - In the Matter of Christopher Hicks

On May 28, 2024, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) dismissed in part and denied in part a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal filed by Christopher Hicks (Appellant) concerning a request made to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Inspector General (OIG) for records related to OIG's investigation of a complaint filed by Appellant. OIG withheld recordings of investigative interviews in their entirety and provided Appellant with records redacted pursuant to Exemption 7(C) to avoid disclosure of the identities of investigative personnel, witnesses, and other identifiable persons . On appeal, Appellant alleged that OIG had not conducted adequate searches for responsive records and that OIG was not entitled to assert Exemption 7(C) to withhold the records. OIG decided to conduct additional searches for records responsive to portions of Appellant's request. With respect to the records withheld by OIG pursuant to Exemption 7(C), OHA concluded that the named individuals had a significant privacy interest in the nondisclosure of their identities in connection with the investigation and that Appellant had failed to identify a public interest in disclosure that outweighed these privacy interests. Therefore, OHA dismissed as moot Appellant's appeal as it pertained to the portions of the request for which OIG had agreed to perform additional searches and denied the appeal in all other respects. (OHA Case No. FIA-24-0025)