One Last Development for Today

I just received an email from Erica Easter, the Chief of Staff from the Office of the Secretary. Here is a copy of our conversation to this point:

FOIA Officer
Erica Easter
Office of the Secretary
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 419
Washington, DC 20004
Erica.Easter@dc.gov
Phone: (202) 727-6306
Fax: (202) 727-3582

Ms. Easter,

According to http://app.dc.gov/apps/about.asp?page=foia&type=dsf&referrer=os.dc.gov&agency_id=1040&osNav=31372, "The FOIA Officer is the principal contact point within OS for advice and policy guidance on matters pertaining to the administration of the FOIA." I was hoping, therefore, that you might be able to help me in making an official request for documents.In the document I have attached to this email, under heading 601: Declaration of Candidacy and Affidavit of Qualifications it states, "601.3 The Declaration of Candidacy filed by the candidate shall contain the following information.... (h) A statement that the candidate meets the qualifications for holding office.

Although it is difficult for me to ascertain from the document itselff whether or not this provision applies to Presidential candidates, my hope is that it does. If this is the case, I would like to submit a FOIA request for the Declaration of Candidacy from the Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates for the 2008 election year cycle. The documents may be emailed to me at juriggs@yahoo.com, or mailed to the address provided above.Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Your Fellow Citizen,

Justin W. Riggs
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From: Easter, Erica (EOM) Erica.Easter@dc.gov
Subject: Re: FOIA Request: Affidavit of Eligibility for Presidential Candidates
To: juriggs@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, November 29, 2008, 8:22 PM

Mr. Riggs,

The records you seek are not held by the Government of the District of Columbia but by the Federal Government. You should direct this request to the US Government.

Thank you,

Erica Easter
Chief of Staff
Office of the Secretary
(202) 340-7532
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Ms. Easter,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Could you, by chance, point me in the right direction as to whom I might direct my request? "The US Government" is a maze of frightening proportions for someone like me... Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Justin
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This could be an important development, because Ms. Easter's reply seems to prove that there are documents held by the Federal government that relate to a Presidential candidate's eligibility to hold office. If I can obtain this document, there should be a certifying party, and I can address my questions to that individual. As far as I know, this is the first evidence of this kind on a Federal level, which is interesing. In some ways, it only muddies the waters further: are both the Federal government and the State parties responsible for certifying Presidential candidates? Time will tell, I believe...

UPDATE 12-01-08

Ms. Easter replied and informed me that she didn't know what office to contact, but recommended the FEC.