Schoenberg v. FBI, 820 F. App'x 609 (9th Cir. 2020) (per curiam)

Schoenberg v. FBI, 820 F. App'x 609 (9th Cir. 2020) (per curiam)

Re:  Request for warrant materials related to closed investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Disposition:  Affirming district court's grant of government's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 7(C):  The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that [u]nder Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit precedent, the identity of ["the FBI Supervisory Special Agent ("SSA") who had signed the search warrant and supporting affidavit"] is protected under Exemption 7(C)."  "First, [the court] agree[s] with the district court that disclosure of the SSA's name implicates a 'nontrivial or . . . more than [ ] de minimis' personal privacy interest."  "Second, [the court] agree[s] with the district court that [plaintiff] failed to show that 'the public interest sought to be advanced is a significant one . . . and that the information is likely to advance that interest.'"  "[Plaintiff] argues that the public has an interest in the SSA's improper behavior, but offers no evidence of official misconduct."  "Given the 'substantial information already in the public domain,' . . . the 'marginal additional usefulness of the [SSA's] name[ ] in exposing government misconduct' does not outweigh the SSA's privacy interest."