TIGTA Says Documents in FOIA Request Will Be Withheld

This letter provides a partial response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated October 9, 2012, which request is at issue in the above-referenced litigation.

As it pertained to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), your request sought "[a]ll documents, including but not limited to emails, letters, telephone logs, and reports pertaining to any investigation by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration into the unauthorized disclosure of § 6103 'return information' to anyone in the Executive Office of the President. . . ."

TIGTA's search has located two thousand five hundred nine (2,509) pages of documents potentially responsive to your request. As of this date, we have confirmed that two thousand forty-three (2,043) of these pages are responsive to your request. TIGTA is still considering whether any or all of the remaining four hundred sixty-six (466) pages would be responsive to your request and if so, whether they may be disclosed under the FOIA.

All of the 2,043 pages of documents we have determined to be responsive were collected by the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the determination of possible liability under Title 26 of the United States Code. These pages consist of return information protected by 26 U.S.C. § 6103 and may not be disclosed absent an express statutory exception. Because no such exception exists here, we are withholding those documents in their entirety under FOIA subsection (b)(3) in conjunction with 26 U.S.C. § 6103.

We anticipate providing you with a response regarding the remaining 466 pages of documents that may be responsive to your FOIA request on or before December 15, 2014. In the interim, should you have any questions regarding this matter, you may contact us through the Department of Justice attorneys assigned to this matter.