## Facts

- An investigative journalist sought records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) concerning the FBI’s transmission to the White House of information about individuals who criticized the Nixon administration.
- The FBI denied the request in part, invoking FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes when disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
- During litigation, the request narrowed to a memorandum transmitting “name check” summaries of 11 public figures, with the summaries drawn from FBI files, plus related attachments.
- The District Court concluded the FBI had not shown the materials were compiled for law enforcement (as opposed to political) purposes, but still upheld withholding under Exemption 7(C) based on personal-privacy harm.
- The D.C. Circuit reversed, holding Exemption 7(C) generally unavailable because the withheld documents were not compiled for law enforcement purposes, except possibly for exact duplicates of investigative-file materials.
- The Supreme Court granted review to decide whether law-enforcement-origin information loses Exemption 7(C) protection when reproduced or summarized in a later document prepared for non-law-enforcement purposes.

## Issues

1. Whether information originally compiled for law enforcement purposes loses FOIA Exemption 7(C) protection when reproduced or summarized in a later, non-law-enforcement document.
2. Whether Exemption 7(C) can be applied to portions of a nonexempt compilation that essentially reproduce the equivalent of earlier law-enforcement records.
3. Whether disclosure of “name check” summaries drawn from investigative files would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy under Exemption 7(C).

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit and remanded.
- The Court held that information originally compiled for law enforcement purposes does not lose Exemption 7 protection merely because it is later reproduced or summarized for non-law-enforcement purposes.
- The FBI could invoke Exemption 7(C) to withhold the name-check summaries and related materials to the extent they reproduced law-enforcement information and disclosure would invade personal privacy.

## Legal Principles

- FOIA Exemption 7(C) permits withholding of investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes when disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
- The “compiled for law enforcement purposes” threshold may be satisfied by showing the withheld material reproduces or is substantially equivalent to information earlier compiled for law enforcement purposes, even if the later document had a different purpose.
- Exemption 7 protection is not defeated by transferring, reformatting, or restating protected investigative information into a different document.
- Privacy harms addressed by Exemption 7(C) can arise from disclosure of the same sensitive investigative information regardless of whether it appears in original investigative files or later summaries tied to identifiable individuals.

## Conclusion

The Court held that law-enforcement-origin information retains FOIA Exemption 7(C) protection when reproduced in later, non-law-enforcement documents, so long as the material still meets Exemption 7’s law-enforcement threshold and disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.


Federal Bureau of Investigation v. Abramson, 456 U.S. 615 (1982)