Ctr. for Public Integrity v. DOD, No. 19-3265, 2019 WL 6270921 (D.D.C. Nov. 25, 2019) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.)

Ctr. for Public Integrity v. DOD, No. 19-3265, 2019 WL 6270921 (D.D.C. Nov. 25, 2019) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.)

Re:  Request for communications between DOD and OMB concerning DOD's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative

Disposition:  Granting plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction
 

• Litigation Considerations, Preliminary Injunctions:  "[T]he Court finds that both the balance of the hardships and the public interest weigh in favor of granting a preliminary injunction."  The court first notes that "this is not an ordinary FOIA case."  "Currently, the United States House of Representatives is in the process of conducting impeachment proceedings concerning the same subject matter as the documents requested by Plaintiff."  "As such, the requested documents are sought in order to inform the public on a matter of extreme national concern."  "Only an informed electorate can develop its opinions and persuasively petition its elected officials to act in ways which further the aims of those opinions."  "In FOIA cases such as this, where the records are sought to inform an imminent public debate, courts in this Circuit have granted preliminary injunctions."  The court then finds that "the four factors to consider in deciding a motion for a preliminary injunction – likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, the balance of the hardships, and the public interest – weigh in favor of granting the requested relief."  First, "[t]he Court finds that Plaintiff has established a likelihood of success on the merits of its requests for expedited processing because Plaintiff has shown a compelling need for obtaining the requested information in an expedited manner."  "Plaintiff has established that it is an entity primarily engaged in disseminating information."  "And, Plaintiff has explained that it requests the information in order to share the information with the public through investigative reports."  "Additionally, Plaintiff has established an urgent need to obtain the information which concerns Federal Government activity."  Second, the court finds that "Plaintiff has also made a sufficient showing that it will suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not issued."  "In this case, the value and import of the information requested by Plaintiff is directly tied to the current, ongoing impeachment proceedings."  "Finally, the Court finds that Plaintiff has shown that the balance of hardships and the public interest weigh in favor of granting injunctive relief."  "[T]he Court finds that the hardship placed on Defendants is minimal."  "The Court acknowledges that Defendants have a pressing FOIA backlog."  "However, Defendants' search in response to Plaintiff's FOIA requests identified only approximately 211 pages for processing."  "Additionally, Plaintiff requests only non-exempt information, which means that Defendants will not be required to create a Vaughn index or to provide declarations in support of withholdings at this time."  "Additionally, the Court finds that the hardship on other FOIA requesters is not a bar to relief."  "The grant of a preliminary injunction in this case will likely place Plaintiff's request ahead of others in Defendant' FOIA queues."  "However, the Court finds that the extraordinary circumstances presented in this case warrant such line-cutting."  "Finally, the Court finds that [the] public interest merits the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction in this case."  "Here, Plaintiff's FOIA requests relate to the federal government's activities concerning the [Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative], the subject matter of ongoing impeachment proceedings."