Office of Information Programs and Services

ID: FFOIA-2016-DOS-0001

A/GIS/IPS/RL
U. S. Department of State
Washington, D. C. 20522
Sent via: Mail
February 22nd, 2016
Re: Freedom of Information Request
United States Department of State,
My name is Isaiah X. Smith and I am sending you this letter for the purpose of making a request under
the Freedom of Information Act. Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, I request
access to and copies of the following:
1. A copy of treaties, negotiations, contracts and lease agreements between the government of
the United States of America and the government of Cuba regarding and pertaining to the
Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.
2. A copy of written letters and emails that state, lists, that is in regards to, pertaining and about
treaties, negotiations, contracts and lease agreements between the government of the United
States of America and the government of Cuba regarding and pertaining to the Guantanamo Bay
detention camp and the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.
I am requesting a waiver of all fees under 5 U.S.C. Section 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). The information I seek is in
the public interest because it will contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or
activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest. I believe I meet the criteria
for a fee waiver recognized by the U.S. Justice Department - in its policy guidance of April 1987 - and by
the federal courts. See Project on Military Procurement v. Department of the Navy, 710 F. Supp. 362
363, 365 (D.C.D. 1989).
My request concerns the operations or activities of government because the Guantanamo Bay detention
camp is a United States military prison that is located in Cuba. Individuals who are and who have been
incarcerated inside of the prison have been known to have been victims of torture through the blasting
of songs, water boarding, and other forms of barbaric treatment and forms of punishment. The Geneva
Convention has to be upheld and as an American torture is very concerning, especially when it occurs
within an American facility. The government of Cuba leases the Guantanamo Bay to the United States
of America as a "coaling and naval station."
Just so you know the Guantanamo Bay detention camp is owned and operated by the United States of
America in which its facility is operable through the funds of the United States of America.
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The information sought has informative value, or potential for contribution to public understanding.
Please note the decision in Elizabeth Eudey v. Central Intelligence Agency, 478 F. Supp. 1175 1176
(D.C.D. 1979) (even a single document has the potential for contributing to public understanding). I plan
to disseminate this information to the public at large by publishing the information that I am requesting
online, such as through scribd.com and on other websites. The public will receive detailed educational
information on military justice and the jurisdiction of the U.S military prison in Cuba and the individuals
who are legally responsible under the Geneva Conventions. Also the negotiations that have occurred
between the government of Cuba and the United States of America regarding and pertaining to the
Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station
In your deliberations, please take note of the following cases:
1. Campbell v. U.S. Department of Justice, 334 U.S. App. D.C. (1998) (administrative and seemingly
repetitious information is not exempt from fee-waiver consideration);
2. Project on Military Procurement v. Department of the Navy (agencies cannot reject a fee
waiver based on the assumption that the information sought is covered by a FOIA exemption;
3. Landmark Legal Foundation v. Internal Revenue Service, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21722 (D.C.D.
1998) (the fact that the information will soon be turned over to a public body does not exempt
the material from fee-waiver consideration).

If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific
exemptions of the act. I will also expect you to release all segregable portions of otherwise exempt
material. I, of course, reserve the right to appeal your decision to withhold any information or to deny a
waiver of fees. I look forward to your reply within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
It would be preferred if you would send me the requested records to me by electronic mail at:
iscampaign@usa.com. You can also send me the requested records to me by mail at the following
mailing address:
Isaiah Smith Campaign
P. O Box 163411
Fort Worth, Texas, 76161
Respectfully,
Isaiah X. Smith

Isaiah Smith Campaign

P.O Box 163411
Fort Worth, Texas, 76161
www.isaiahxsmith.com
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