U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons Central Office 320 First St., NW Washington, DC 20534 January 9, 2020 Danielle Ivory The New York Times 620 Eighth Avenuse New York, NY 10018 Request Number: 2020-01336 Dear Ms. Ivory: This is in response to the above referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. On 01-02-2020, you submitted a FOIA request to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). A copy of your request is attached. After reviewing your request, the BOP determined the request should be aggregated into one request, which is request number 2020-01336. This request was made on 12- 12-2019, which is the date you submitted the earliest request being aggregated. This will ensure you are not disadvantaged by our action. Department of Justice regulations provide for the aggregation of requests where "a component reasonably believes that a requester...is attempting to divide a single request into a series of requests for the purpose of avoiding fees...." The regulation continues, "Components may presume that multiple requests of this type made within a 30-day period have been made in order to avoid fees." 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(h) (2015). BOP's decision to aggregate is based on the time both requests were filed and the interrelation of the records sought in each request. We do not know if any fees will be associated with this request and will inform you of any estimated fees prior to us searching for or copying any responsive records. Regarding your request for expedited treatment, you provided insufficient information to support your claim regarding an urgency to inform the public. This Office cannot identify a particular urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged federal government activity beyond the public's right to know about government activities generally. You provided insufficient information to support your claim you are primarily engaged in disseminating information that would warrant placing your re