Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep't of State, No. 16-885, 2018 WL 4762258 (D.D.C. Oct. 1, 2018) (Lamberth, J.)

Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Dep't of State, No. 16-885, 2018 WL 4762258 (D.D.C. Oct. 1, 2018) (Lamberth, J.)

Re:  Request for records concerning email in which then-Secretary Clinton seemingly directed deputy chief of staff to strip the headings from classified document and send it over unsecure fax machine

Disposition:  Granting in part and denying in part defendant's motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege and Attorney-Work Product:  The court holds that records "soliciting revisions and feedback on a draft," "emails reflect the give-and-take of a continuous decisionmaking process," and records where "one participant is identified as an attorney, and appears to be providing feedback in an attorney-client relationship," can be withheld.  However, the court also holds that records "conveying the final result of an earlier discussion about how to respond to a past inquiry," "talking points [which] are final versions – not drafts," records "relay[ing] not a tentative plan but an already settled strategy," and records which appear to be finished products for which defendant has not provided an "explanation of the role these documents played in a deliberative process" cannot be withheld.