CREW I citizens for responsibility

and ethics in washington

October 19, 2010

By facs imile: 202-514-5331 and first-class mail

Matthew Miller
Director
Office of Public Affairs
U .S. Department of Justice, Room 1128
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N .W.
Washington, D.C. 205 30- 000 1

Re: FOIA Request for Expedition

Dear Mr. Miller:

Pursuant to U .S. Department of Ju stice ("DOl" ) Freedom ofInformation Act ("FOIA")

regulations, specifically 28 C.F.R. § 16.5(d)(2), Citi zens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington (" CREW") requests that you grant its requests for exp edition of the enclosed FOIA
requ ests of this date, submitted to the Criminal Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. '

CREW ' s requests seek copies of any w itnes s statem ents, inv esti gation reports,
pro secution memoranda, and FBI 302 reports related to DOl's investi gation of former Hou se
Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Thi s includes, but is not limited to , DOl's inv esti gation of
relationships between Mr. DeLay and Christine D eLay, Dani DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Edw in
Buckham, Tony Rudy, Michael Scanlon, Sus an Hirshmann, the Al exander Strategy Group, the
National Center for Public Policy Research , eLotte ry, Inc., the U.S . Family N etwork, Am ericans
for a Republican Majority PAC ("ARM PAC ") , Texans for a Republican Majority PAC
("TRM PAC"), and/or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.

CREW requests expe dition in light of the widespr ead and exceptional media interest in
these matters . The news media has clo sely track ed DOl' s extens ive investi gation into illegal
lobb yin g activities by Mr. Abramoff and others from the beginning of the investi gation, through
the crim inal convictions of sev eral lobbyist s, former administration official s, and form er Rep.
Bob Ney, including DOJ ' s apparent recent decision not to bring charge s against Mr. DeLay. See,
e.g., R. Jeffrey Smith, Ju sti ce Department Drops Investi gation of DeLay Ti es to Abramoff, Wash.
Post , August 17, 20 10; Michael Hedges, As Lobbyin g Scandal Drags On , DeLay Take s a Shot at
FBI, Houston Chronicle, May 9, 2007; Phil She non, Ex -DeLay Aide Pleads Guilty In Lobby
Case, N. Y Tim es , April 1, 2006; Susan Schmidt & James V. Grimaldi , Lawmakers Under

I CREW 's FOIA request s are enclose d as Exh ibit 1. Onl y one set of ex hibits to the

requ ests are enclosed as the y are identical.

1400 Eye Street, NW., Suite 450, Washington , D.C. 20005 I 202.408.5565 phone I 202.588.5020 fax I www.citizensforethics .org
.~ ,
Scrutiny in Prob e of Lobbyist, Wash. Post, November 26,2005.2 DOl' s inves tigation and other
inquiri es exp osed one of the most serious corrupt ion scan dals in Amer ican history, leading to
legislation to more closely regulate the relationship between lobbyists and gove rnment officials.
See Elizabeth Williamso n, Lawmakers Agree on New Ethics Rules, Wash. Post , July 28,2007.

Furthermo re, there is a particular urgency to inform the publi c about these investigations
because criminal allegations agai nst Mr. DeLay remain very active - a trial on state charges that
he and two assoc iates conspire d to illegally laund er money laund ering through TRM PAC is
scheduled to begin on October 26, 2010. See Laylan Copelin, Subpoe na List in DeLay Case
Reads Like Who' s Who of Political, Business Interests, A ustin America n-Statesman, October 16,
20 10. Witnesses subpoe naed by the pros ecuti on for the trial include Mr. Buckham and Mr.
Scanlon, who may be questioned about "' the inner workings of Tom DeLay' s political
organization' as well as the defendant's lobby-paid trips to Russ ia, Scotland and the Northern
Marianas Island s" that were the subject of DOl's investigation . Id. In addition, the requested
docum ents also would also shed light on DOl' s conduct in conductin g the investigation of Mr.
DeLay, and its appa rent decision to close the investigation without bringing charges against Mr.
DeLay. See Smith, Wash. Post, August 17, 2010 . In light of the substant ial media and publi c
interest, the imp ortance of this information for Mr. DeLay' s crim inal trial, and possible questions
about the government's integrity affect ing publi c confidence, CREW satisfi es DOl' s
requirements for expedition.

Moreover, as CREW exp lained in it FOIA requests, CREW is a non- profit corporation
engaged primarily in disseminating information it gathers from a variety of sources , includ ing the
FOIA, and seeks the inform ation requ ested in the FOIA request for the exp ress purpose of
disseminatin g it to the public. CREW's website, www.citizensforethics.org, contains links to
thousand s of pages of docum ents CREW has acquired from multiple FOIA requ ests, as well as
docum ents related to CRE W's FOIA litigation and other compl aint s. Similarly, CREW posts all
of its documents acq uired through the FOIA on www.scribd.com.

For the foregoin g reasons , as we ll as those set forth in CREW ' s FOIA requests of October
19, 2010 , CREW requ ests that you grant its requ ests for expedition.

Pursuant to 28 C.F .R. § 16.5(d)(3), I hereby cert ify that the basis for CREW' s request for
expedition, as outlined above, is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Sincerely,

Senior Counse l

Enclos ures

2 Copi es of the articles referenced in this letter are attached as Exhibit 2.