VIA CERTIFIED MAIL

Bertrand Tzeng
IRS FOIA Request
HQFOIA
Stop211
2980 Brandywine Road
Chamblee, GA 30341
Dear Mr. Tzeng:
JW1e 23,2014
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request
On JWle 13,2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) informed the Senate Finance Committee
that certain emails of Lois Lerner, IRS's former Director of Tax Exempt Organizations, could not be
produced because her computer had crashed in mid-2011 and back-up tapes no longer existed.
1
Subsequently, on JWle 17, 2014, the House Ways and Means Committee annoWlced that it had learned
that emails of other IRS employees also are no longer available.
2
These emails are critical to
determining the origin( s) of the IRS's targeting of conservative groups inasmuch as Ms. Lerner is the
central figure in the unfolding scandal. The emails are further crucial in determining whether, and the
extent to which, other agencies, entities, political figures and parties ("the non-IRS government
officials") were responsible for, aware of or encouraged IRS's targeting of conservative groups. As
such, Cause of Action and Tea Party Patriots hereby request access to the following records from
January 2009 to JWle 2011 pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 (FOIA):
3
1. Records pertaining to the type of email system(s) software used by IRS;
2. Records pertaining to IRS hardware/software operational system diagrams, indicating the main
and redundant servers and their functional operation;
3. Records pertaining to IRS computer system backup policies and procedures;
4. Records pertaining to IRS retention cycles for data backups;
5. Records pertaining to any and all investigation(s) or inquiries into the "crash" of Lois Lerner's
computer, as referenced in the JW1e 13, 2014 Letter from IRS to the Senate Finance Committee;
6. Records pertaining to any forensic review of IRS servers maintained in West Virginia,
Tennessee or Detroit to search for the emails of Lois Lerner and/or other IRS employees in the
Office of the Commissioner, Exempt Organizations Unit and IRS Counsel's office;
7. Records (including copies of contracts, scope of work, evidence of payments, any internal
reviews and commWlications) pertaining to any third party vendor with which IRS contracted
1
Letter from Leonard Oursler, National Director for Legislative Action, to Sens. Ron Wyden, Chairman, and Orrin Hatch,
Ranking Member, Committee on Finance (June 13, 2014).
2
See Press Release, Comm. Ways & Means, Exposed: IRS Kept Secret for Months, More Than Just Lerner Emails Lost
(June 17, 2014 ), available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/newsldocumentsingle.aspx?Document10=384 708.
3
This request is being submitted as a single document signed by multiple requesters in order to avoid submitting
duplicative requests. However, each requester reserves the right to appeal the outcome of IRS's determination of the merits
of this request either jointly or severally, in each requester's sole discretion.
Mr. Bertrand Tzeng
June 23,2014
Page2
for email archiving and/or recovery, including, but not limited to, Sonasoft Corporation (the
time period for this request is January 2005 to the present);
8. Records pertaining to when IRS officials responding to the congressional investigation and
litigation involving the targeting of conservative groups first learned about the "lost" or
"missing" emails;
9. Hard copies of emails, in accordance with Section 1.10.3.2.3(3) of IRS Manual, sent to and/or
received from Lois Lerner, Nikole Flax, Michelle Eldridge, Kimberly Kitchens, Julie Chen,
Tyler Chumny, and/or Nancy Heagney, pertaining to the targeting of conservative groups (the
time period for this request is January 2009 to the present);
10. Backup records of the emails requested in Item 9 above (the time period for this request is
January 2009 to the present);
11. All prior versions of Section 1.1 0.3 of IRS Manual (the time period for this request is January
2009 through the 2012 version, including, but not limited to, the version dated July 2011);
12. Emails that Lois Lerner sent to and/or received from the Federal Election Commission, U.S.
Department of Justice (including, but not limited to, the Federal Bureau of Investigation), the
Department ofTreasury and the Executive Office of the President (including, but not limited to,
the Office ofWhite House Counsel); and
13. Records pertaining to IRS's compliance with Sections 1.10.3.2.3, 1.15.6.6 and 1.15.6.8(l)(B)
ofiRS Manual, Item 5 ofNational Archives and Records Administration's General Records
Schedule 23 ("Schedule of Daily Activities"), and 36 C.F.R. 1222.12.
Request for news media status
For fee purposes, Cause of Action and Tea Party Patriots each qualify as a "representative of
the news media" as defined by the statute. 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(ll). Specifically, both Cause of
Action and Tea Party Patriots gather information of potential interest to a segment of the public, use
their editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distribute that work to an
audience. See id.
Cause of Action, in particular, gathers news that it regularly publishes from a variety of
sources, including FOIA requests, whistleblowers/insiders, and scholarly works. Cause of Action does
not merely make raw information available to the public, but rather distributes distinct work products,
including articles, blog posts, investigative reports, and newsletters.
4
These distinct works are
distributed to and through various media, including Cause of Action's website, which has been viewed
just under 120,000 times in the past year alone.
5
Cause of Action also disseminates news to the public
via Twitter and Facebook, and it provides news updates to subscribers via email.
The statutory definition of a "representative of the news media" unequivocally commands that
organizations such as Cause of Action and Tea Party Patriots that electronically disseminate
4
See, e.g., CAUSE OF ACTION, GRADING THE GOVERNMENT: HOW THE WHITE HOUSE TARGETS DocUMENT REQUESTERS
(Mar. 18, 2014), available at http://causeofaction.org/grading-govemment-white-house-targets-document-requesters/; see
also CAUSE OF ACTION, GREENTECH AUTOMOTIVE: A VENTURE CAPITALIZED BY CRONYISM (Sept. 23, 20 13), available at
http://causeofaction.org/20 13/09/23/greentech-automotive-a-venture-capitalized-by-cronyism-2/; see also CAUSE OF
ACTION, POLITICAL PROFITEERING: HOW FOREST CITY ENTERPRISES MAKES PRIVATE PROFITS AT THE EXPENSE OF
AMERICAN TAXPAYERS PART I (Aug. 2, 2013), available at http://causeofaction.org/2013/08/02/political-profiteering-how-
forest-city-enterprises-makes-private-profits-at-the-expense-of-americas-taxpayers/.
5
Google Analytics for http://www.causeofaction.org (on file with Cause of Action).
Mr. Bertrand Tzeng
June 23,2014
Page 3
information and publications via "alternative media shall be considered to be news-media entities."
5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(ii)(II). In light of the foregoing, federal agencies have appropriately
recognized Cause of Action's news media status in connection with its FOIA requests.
6
Tea Party
Patriots should be recognized as such as well.
Record production and contact information
In order to facilitate record production, please provide the responsive records in electronic
format. If a certain set of responsive records can be produced more readily, Cause of Action and Tea
Party Patriots respectfully request that these records be produced first and that the remaining records
be produced on a rolling basis as circumstances permit. Cause of Action and Tea Party Patriots agree
to pay reasonable duplication fees. Please notify any of the undersigned in advance, however, if such
fees are expected to exceed $25.00.
7
If you have any questions about this request, please contact Cause of Action via Prashant
Khetan (by email at prashant.khetan@causeofaction.org) or Allan Blutstein (by email at
allan.blutstein@causeofaction.org), or by telephone at (202) 499-4232, or Tea Party Patriots' counsel
Cleta Mitchell (by email at cmitchell@foley.com, or by telephone at (202) 431-1950).
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
CAUSE OF ACTION
B1:\_
\_)CfL
Prashant K. Khetan, Esq.
Allan L. Blutstein, Esq.
-and-
TEA PARTY PATRIOTS
JENNY BETH MARTIN, NATIONAL Co-FOUNDER
BY:
~ ~
Cleta Mitchell, Esq.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Counsel to Tea Party Patriots
6
See, e.g., FOIA Request LR-2014-00441, Nat'] Labor Relations Bd. (June 4, 2014); FOIA Request 14-01095-T, Sec. &
Exch. Comm'n (May 7, 2014); FOIA Request 2014-HQF0-00236, Dep't of Homeland Sec. (Jan. 8, 2014); FOIA Request
DOC-OS-2014-000304, Dep't of Commerce (Dec. 30, 2013); FOIA Request 14F-036, Health Res. & Serv. Admin. (Dec. 6,
2013); FOIA Request CFPB-2014-010-F, Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau (Oct. 7, 2013); FOIA Request 2013-01234-F, Dep't
of Energy (July I, 20 13); FOIA Request 20 12-RMA-02563F, Dep't of Agric. (May 3, 20 12); FOIA Request 2012-00270,
Dep't oflnterior (Feb. 17, 2012); FOIA Request 12-00455-F, Dep't ofEduc. (Jan. 20, 2012).
7
If either Cause of Action's or Tea Party Patriots' request for news media status is denied, each reserves the right to seek a
public interest waiver of applicable fees pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A).