Smith v. CIA, No. 15-01431, 2017 WL 1194166 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2017) (Chutkan, J.)

Smith v. CIA, No. 15-01431, 2017 WL 1194166 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2017) (Chutkan, J.)

Re: Request for CIA's intelligence budget, specifically, line items supporting Israel from 1990 through 2015

Disposition: Denying defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Exemptions 1 & 3, Glomar: "Because the court finds the CIA's Glomar response unwarranted because of President Obama's statement, which constituted an official acknowledgement of the existence of the records sought, it will not reach whether, absent the official acknowledgment, Exemptions 1 and 3 would properly justify a Glomar response." The court first responds to plaintiff's public acknowledgement argument and finds that "[e]ven assuming the purported testimony exists, the court finds it does not 'match' the information Plaintiff seeks; [the former Director] did not refer to Israel or confirm the existence of CIA budget line items supporting Israel or general CIA support for Israel." "[The former Director's] statement, assuming he made it, does not meet the public-acknowledgement criteria necessary to overcome the CIA's Glomar response." However, "[t]he court finds that in the Glomar context, President Obama's statement is sufficient to acknowledge the existence of the records sought." "The match between Plaintiff's request and President Obama's statement, although the statement did not consist of the specific words 'CIA' or 'line items,' is . . . close[.]" "President Obama's statement about United States intelligence assistance to Israel does confirm that the CIA has items in its budget pertaining to assistance to Israel."