Benghazi 12 20 13

Benghazi 12 20 13

On October 18, 2012, JW filed a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request with the Department of State seeking the following:

1) Copies of any updates and/or talking points given to Ambassador Rice by the White House or any federal agency concerning, regarding, or related to the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
2) Any and all records or communications concerning, regarding, or relating to talking points or updates on the Benghazi attack given to Ambassador Rice by the White House or any federal agency.

State failed to make a determination or notify JW whether it will comply with the FOIA request within the time allowed by the Act. As a result, JW filed suit against State on June 21, 2013, for failure to comply with the Act and requesting Defendant’s production of non-exempt responsive documents.

The parties agreed that defendant will make a rolling production of responsive materials every 2 months starting October 31, 2013, with a final production due April 17, 2013. If JW will dispute State’s withholdings of documents, the parties will submit a proposed briefing schedule with the court by June 2, 2013.

To date, two batches of documents have been produced. The first consists of 1192 pages of daily press clips from the United States Mission to the United Nations, dated September 12-28. The documents were released in full and contain nothing beyond published news stories. The second production consists of 67 pages of emails. The majority of the content is withheld as deliberative process and/or attorney-client privilege, aside from three prepared talking points sent to members of Congress on September 15, 2012 (quoted below).

“–The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US diplomatic post in Benghazi and subsequently its annex. There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations.

–This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and as currently available information continues to be evaluated.