Sounds like an excellent appeal of a shady denial. You might appreciate the many strategies used by the U.S. Navy to dodge a FOIA request in one of our earlier posts… and how those strategies came to light.

https://sorrywatch.com/the-navy-regrets/

In 1992, I made a New York State Freedom of Information Law request regarding the controversial appearance of one Khalled Muhammed at SUNY Stony Brook. The initial response was that Mr. Muhammed’s appearance “was sponsored by a number of campus organizations all funded under the student government association called Polity. Polity is an independent corporation and not subject to the state Freedom of Information Law.”

I appealed the denial, noting the following:

“Mr. Muhammed appeared in the Staller Center, a SUNY facility. Mr. Muhammed’s speech was obviously recorded. It would seem that SUNY personnel were involved in the presentation at the Staller Center. (If University personnel were not so involved, then one can only wonder which provisions of the applicable labor-management agreements were breached.).

Mr. Muhammed was accompanied by his own security personnel, who were reportedly armed. Even if such individuals were unarmed, it is obvious that arrangements and coordination with SUNY security forces were (or should have been) made in advance, and paperwork generated thereby. SUNY should not knowingly consent to invasions of its campuses by outsiders, armed or otherwise, without permission, cognizance, direction, and control by SUNY security forces.”

I received a tranche of interesting documents.