UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SUMMER SHAW, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 18-593 (JEB) THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Timothy Blixseth went bankrupt but believes his financial troubles are due to the malfeasance of others. In pursuit of this theory, his attorney, Plaintiff Summer Shaw, wields the Freedom of Information Act in an attempt to obtain evidence of “years of potential corruption by numerous individuals” relating to bankruptcy proceedings involving Yellowstone Mountain Club (YMC), Blixseth’s private ski and recreational property in Montana. See ECF No. 32-1 (Declaration of Timothy Blixseth), ¶ 3. To this end, Shaw sent a FOIA request to Defendant, the Department of Justice, seeking all emails between former Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and employees at Covington & Burling, LLP, alleging that such records would reveal collusion between DOJ and adverse parties in the bankruptcy action. Dissatisfied with DOJ’s response, Plaintiff brought this suit to compel the disclosure of hundreds of emails, asserting that they were improperly withheld as non-agency records or without a valid FOIA exemption. Assessing dueling Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment, the Court ultimately concludes that the Government has correctly discharged its obligations here. 1 I. Background Because Blixseth and YMC’s history is relevant to the public interest involved, the Court will offer a simplified summary here. Blixseth and his then-wife, Edra, developed YMC with Blixseth operating as sole owner through his business entity BGI Group, Inc., which subsequently became BLX Group, Inc. See Kirschner v. Blixseth, No. 11-08283, 2012 WL 12885076, at *2 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 1, 2012); In re BLX Group, Inc., 419 B.R. 457, 460–61 (Bankr. D. Mont. 2009). On September 30, 2005, Blixseth borrowed $375 million from Credit Suisse to secure funding for developing the property. See In re BLX Group, Inc., 419 B.R. at 461. That same day, $209 million of the $375 million wired to BLX was disbursed by Blixseth into various personal accounts to pay off personal debts. Id. In 2008, as part of a marital settlement agreement, Edra took ownership of the YMC entities. Id. According to Blixseth, “She then partnered with . . . Sam Byrne, Ron Burkle,[ who has ties to Breuer,] and Mike Meldman . . . in placing [YMC] into bankruptcy” just months after taking ownership. See Blixseth Decl., ¶ 4. During the bankruptcy proceedings, the circumstances surrounding the $375 million loan came to light. Id., ¶ 5. What followed is summarized best by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a separate but related case: Blixseth objected to the proposed bankruptcy settlement plan (the Plan), arguing that his ex-wife and others were the cause of Yellowstone’s financial problems. The bankruptcy court disagreed, [finding] that Blixseth had misappropriated Yellowstone’s cash and property for his personal use and that his fraudulent intent in doing so could not be more clear. The bankruptcy court entered a $40 million judgment against Blixseth — the amount the court determined was necessary to pay off certain ...
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