Case 1:22-cv-00216-APM Document 1 Filed 01/27/22 Page 1 of 7
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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`AARON GREENSPAN,
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`956 Carolina Street
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`San Francisco, CA 94107
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`Plaintiff,
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`U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
`COMMISSION,
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`100 F Street, NE
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`Washington, D.C. 20549
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`Defendant.
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`COMPLAINT
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`1.
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`Plaintiff AARON GREENSPAN brings this Freedom of Information Act suit to
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`force Defendant U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) to produce
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`various agency records regarding SEC’s investigations into a business founded by television
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`personality Jim Cramer and other issues. In violation of FOIA, Defendant failed to issue a
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`determination within the statutory deadline and failed to produce records responsive to the
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`requests.
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`PARTIES
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`2.
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`AARON GREENSPAN made the FOIA requests at issue in this case.
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`GREENSPAN is a data journalist. He founded and operates the website PlainSite, an online
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`platform created as an initiative to further legal transparency and anti-corruption by making
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`government and business dealings more accessible and transparent to the general public.
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`3.
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`Defendant U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) is a
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`federal agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
`
`
`
`
`AARON GREENSPAN,
`
`
`956 Carolina Street
`
`
`
`San Francisco, CA 94107
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`
`
`
`
`
`v.
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
`COMMISSION,
`
`
`
`100 F Street, NE
`
`
`
`Washington, D.C. 20549
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Defendant.
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`)
`
`COMPLAINT
`
`
`
`1.
`
`Plaintiff AARON GREENSPAN brings this Freedom of Information Act suit to
`
`force Defendant U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) to produce
`
`various agency records regarding SEC’s investigations into a business founded by television
`
`personality Jim Cramer and other issues. In violation of FOIA, Defendant failed to issue a
`
`determination within the statutory deadline and failed to produce records responsive to the
`
`requests.
`
`PARTIES
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`2.
`
`AARON GREENSPAN made the FOIA requests at issue in this case.
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`GREENSPAN is a data journalist. He founded and operates the website PlainSite, an online
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`platform created as an initiative to further legal transparency and anti-corruption by making
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`government and business dealings more accessible and transparent to the general public.
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`3.
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`Defendant U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) is a
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`federal agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.
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`Case 1:22-cv-00216-APM Document 1 Filed 01/27/22 Page 2 of 7
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`4.
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`This case is brought under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) and presents a federal question
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`conferring jurisdiction on this Court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
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`5.
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`Venue is proper under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B).
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`APRIL 16, 2021 FOIA REQUEST (THESTREET.COM)
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`6.
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`On April 16, 2021, GREENSPAN submitted a FOIA request (the “First Request”)
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`to SEC for records concerning CNBC anchor Jim Cramer’s business initiative, TheStreet.com.
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`SEC’s acknowledgement letter that summarizes the First Request is attached as Exhibit 1.
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`7.
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`On June 15, 2021, SEC acknowledged receipt of the First Request and assigned
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`reference number 21-01565-FOIA to the matter. Ex. 1.
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`8.
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`On June 21, 2021, SEC stated that it had identified “approximately 41 boxes” of
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`records responsive to the First Request and asked GREENSPAN if he would be willing to
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`narrow the scope of the Request. Ex. 2.
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`9.
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`On June 21, 2021, GREENSPAN asked whether SEC could provide the types of
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`records it identified in its search so he could make an informed decision on narrowing the scope
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`of the First Request. Ex. 3.
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`10.
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`SEC stated that it does not know what boxes contain which records. Instead, SEC
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`asked GREENSPAN to identify specific types of investigation records. Id.
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`11.
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`On December 10, 2021, GREENSPAN sought an estimated date of completion
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`for the First Request and asked SEC to provide a description of the records in each box so he
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`could potentially narrow the scope of the First Request. Id.
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`12.
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`On December 13, 2021, SEC stated that it is not able to “determine the contents
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`of the records that were located.” Id.
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`Case 1:22-cv-00216-APM Document 1 Filed 01/27/22 Page 3 of 7
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`13.
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`Further, in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(7)(B)(ii), SEC failed to provide an
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`estimated date of completion for the First Request. Id.
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`14.
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`As of the date of this filing, SEC has not issued a determination within twenty
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`business days under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) and has not complied with the statutory
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`requirement under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A) to make the records promptly available to any person.
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`JANUARY 12, 2021 FOIA REQUEST (BRADLEY BONDI)
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`15.
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`On January 12, 2021, GREENSPAN submitted a FOIA request (the “Second
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`Request”) to SEC for all emails to or from any sec.gov email address and Bradley Bondi
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`(bbondi@cahill.com) or his assistant(s) on his behalf from January 1, 2020 to present. SEC’s
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`acknowledgement letter that paraphrases the FOIA request is attached as Ex. 4.
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`16.
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`17.
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`SEC assigned reference number 21-00677-FOIA to the matter. Id.
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`Between May and August 2021, GREENSPAN and SEC conferred about the
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`scope and status of the Second Request.
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`18.
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`On August 6, 2021, SEC stated that there are “approximately 3,761 pages of e-
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`mail records” that are potentially responsive to the Second Request. Based on this information,
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`GREENSPAN asked SEC to process “the first 32 hours” of the Second Request on the simple
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`track and the rest on the complex track. SEC agreed to do so on August 6, 2021. Ex. 5.
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`19.
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`Having received no further correspondence from SEC, GREENSPAN sought an
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`estimated date of completion for the Second Request on October 13, 2021. Id.
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`20.
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`On October 14, 2021, SEC stated that the estimated date of completion is
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`“December 31, 2021” and will work towards issuing an “interim response” by November 12,
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`2021. Id.
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`21.
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`On November 12, 2021, SEC stated that it is not able to make a partial release,
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`but maintained that the estimated date of completion is December 31, 2021. Ex. 6 at 2.
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`Case 1:22-cv-00216-APM Document 1 Filed 01/27/22 Page 4 of 7
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`22.
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`On December 12, 2021, GREENSPAN asked whether SEC still plans to produce
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`the records by December 31, 2021. Id. at 2.
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`23.
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`In response, SEC stated that the Second Request is “overly broad” and the results
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`are “taking a significant amount of time to review.” SEC asked whether GREENSPAN would
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`narrow his Second Request to by adding keywords such as, “Musk” or “Tesla.” Id. at 1.
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`24.
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`On December 22, 2021, GREENSPAN indicated that he does not wish to narrow
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`the scope of the Second Request and asked SEC to provide all emails involving Bradley Bondi as
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`stated in his original Second Request. Id. at 1.
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`25.
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`As of the date of this filing, SEC has not issued a determination within twenty
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`business days under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) and has not complied with the statutory
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`requirement under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A) to make the records promptly available to any person.
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`OCTOBER 6, 2021 FOIA REQUEST (ROBOTS.TXT LINE 89)
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`26.
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`On October 6, 2021, GREENSPAN submitted a FOIA request (the “Third
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`Request”) to SEC for records regarding https://www.sec.gov/robots.txt Line 89. SEC’s
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`acknowledgement letter that paraphrases the FOIA request is attached as Ex. 7.
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`27.
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`By way of background, “robots.txt” is a file that is generally used to instruct
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`search engines, such as Google and Bing, what not to index on a given website.
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`28.
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`In this particular incident, the SEC placed a line, which happens to be on the 89th
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`line in the robots.txt file for the www.sec.gov website, instructing search engines to not index a
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`previously visible press release concerning the charges of securities fraud filed against Elon
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`Musk by the SEC in 2018.
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`29.
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`30.
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`SEC assigned reference number 22-00028-FOIA to the matter. Id.
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`On November 30, 2021, SEC stated that it is not able to respond to the Third
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`Request within the twenty-day statutory time period due to “unusual circumstances.” SEC also
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`Case 1:22-cv-00216-APM Document 1 Filed 01/27/22 Page 5 of 7
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`claimed that it identified “approximately 4.49 gigabytes (equivalent to approximately 269,400
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`pages or 107.8 boxes) of emails that may be responsive” to the Request. Ex. 8.
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`31.
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` On November 30, 2021, GREENSPAN narrowed the scope of the Third Request
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`to the “e-mail inbox and sent messages for whomever in OIT was and/or is responsible for
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`maintaining the SEC’s robots.txt file.” Ex. 9 at 3.
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`32.
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`On December 10, 2021, GREENSPAN followed up with SEC whether it can
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`conduct a narrower search based on the parameters he provided. Id. at 2.
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`33.
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`On December 13, 2021, SEC stated that it queried the program office regarding
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`the narrowed search parameter. Id. at 2.
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`34.
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`Having received no further correspondence from SEC, GREENSPAN sought an
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`estimated date of completion for the Third Request on January 14, 2022. SEC stated that it
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`anticipates sending a response by January 21, 2022. Ex. 9 at 1.
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`35.
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`As of the date of this filing, SEC has not issued a determination within twenty
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`business days under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) and has not complied with the statutory
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`requirement under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A) to make the records promptly available to any person.
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`COUNT I – APRIL 16, 2021 FOIA REQUEST (THESTREET.COM),
`SEC’S FOIA VIOLATION
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`The above paragraphs are incorporated herein.
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`The Request seeks disclosure of agency records and were properly made.
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`SEC is a federal agency and subject to FOIA.
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`Included within the scope of the Request are one or more records or portions of
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`36.
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`37.
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`38.
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`39.
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`records that are not exempt under FOIA.
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`40.
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`In violation of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) and (a)(3)(A), SEC has failed to issue a
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`determination and has failed to promptly produce records responsive to the First Request.
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`Case 1:22-cv-00216-APM Document 1 Filed 01/27/22 Page 6 of 7
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`COUNT II – JANUARY 12, 2021 FOIA REQUEST (BRADLEY BONDI),
`SEC’S FOIA VIOLATION
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`The above paragraphs are incorporated herein.
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`41.
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`42.
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`43.
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`44.
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`The request seeks disclosure of agency records and were properly made.
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`SEC is a federal agency and subject to FOIA.
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`Included within the scope of the Request are one or more records or portions of
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`records that are not exempt under FOIA.
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`45.
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`In violation of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) and (a)(3)(A), SEC has failed to issue a
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`determination and has failed to promptly produce records responsive to the Second Request.
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`COUNT III – OCTOBER 6, 2021 FOIA REQUEST (ROBOTS.TXT LINE 89),
`SEC’S FOIA VIOLATION
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`The above paragraphs are incorporated herein.
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`46.
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`47.
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`48.
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`49.
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`The request seeks disclosure of agency records and were properly made.
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`SEC is a federal agency and subject to FOIA.
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`Included within the scope of the Request are one or more records or portions of
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`records that are not exempt under FOIA.
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`50.
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`In violation of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i) and (a)(3)(A), SEC has failed to issue a
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`determination and has failed to promptly produce records responsive to the Third Request.
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`WHEREFORE, GREENSPAN asks the Court to:
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`i.
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`ii.
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`iii.
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`iii.
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`declare that SEC has violated FOIA;
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`order SEC to conduct a reasonable search for records responsive to the requests
`and issue determinations pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(B)-(C) and (6)(A)(i);
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`order SEC promptly produce all non-exempt records responsive to the requests or
`portions of the requests pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A);
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`enjoin SEC from withholding non-exempt public records under FOIA pursuant to
`5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B);
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`Case 1:22-cv-00216-APM Document 1 Filed 01/27/22 Page 7 of 7
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`iv.
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`v.
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`award Plaintiff attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E)(i);
`and
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`award such other relief the Court considers appropriate.
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`Dated: January 27, 2022
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`RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
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`/s/ Matthew V. Topic
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`Attorney for Plaintiff
`AARON GREENSPAN
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`Matthew Topic, D.C. Bar No. IL 0037
`Merrick Wayne, D.C. Bar No. IL 0058
`Shelley Geiszler, D.C. Bar No. IL 0087
`LOEVY & LOEVY
`311 North Aberdeen, 3rd Floor
`Chicago, IL 60607
`312-243-5900
`foia@loevy.com
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