One of my first posts on this blog was about a problem I encountered while requesting records from the FBI. And so it goes again.

I have been trying to obtain old FBI files — if there are any — on a now deceased Utah figure. (I won't say who. I'm afraid of tipping off the competition, even though our Web site folks assure me hardly anyone reads this blog.)

Citing the Freedom of Information Act, I filed a records request with the FBI field office in Salt Lake City. The office forwarded my request to headquarters in Washington, D.C., and within in a couple weeks — quick turnaround in the FOI world — I received a response. There were no responsive records in Salt Lake City.

OK, fair enough. But my subject also lived in California. What records are there?

I filed a request with the FBI field office in Sacramento on Thursday. Friday I received a phone call from that field office. An FBI agent told me that I needed to send that request to Washington, D.C.

Wait a minute. The Salt Lake City field office accepts my requests, I said. Why can't your office?

The agent told me the bureau's FOIA guidelines say requests should be sent to headquarters. He was polite but firm on this topic. He suggested my written request say ask the FBI to look for records in Sacramento — where I already sent a request.

— NC

Labels: FBI, FOIA