UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA __________________________________________ : DANIEL BOYD, : : Plaintiff, : : v. : Civil Action No. 19-1664 (ABJ) : DONALD TRUMP, et al., : : Defendants. : _________________________________________ : MEMORANDUM OPINION Daniel Patrick Boyd brings this action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), see 5 U.S.C. § 552, against Donald J. Trump, William P. Barr, Susan B. Gerson, two “John Does,” David L. Harlow, and William E. Bordley. This matter is before the Court on defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 19, and plaintiff’s motion for entry of default, ECF No. 14. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant defendants’ motion, and deny plaintiff’s motion because defendants are not in default in this case. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Plaintiff, who has been convicted of terrorism-related conspiracy charges, see generally United States v. Hassan, 842 F.3d 104 (4th Cir. 2014), is serving prison sentences imposed by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. See generally Compl. (ECF No. 1), Ex. B (ECF No. 1-1 at 2-32 (page numbers designated by CM/ECF)). He requests the disclosure of the following documents: a) Certified copy of his plea agreement; b) Affidavit of criminal complaint; 1 c) Information filed by the government d) Arrest warrant or summons; e) Letter of Certificate of concurrence; f) Affidavit of Complaint of Probable Cause Hearing; g) Grand Jury transcripts, ballot, or record for inspection, and; h) All indictments, duly endorsed by their foreperson and the United States Attorney, or colloquy of defendant being advised of his right of a true-bill indictment and waiving it. Compl. ¶ 7. Plaintiff alleges that “his efforts to utilize the [FOIA] appear to have been either refused, neglected, hidden, or ignored by the government.” Id. ¶ 10. An attachment to the complaint indicates that plaintiff mailed a FOIA request to an unidentified agency at the following address: 111 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., 2d Floor Ullico Bldg., Washington, DC 20529. See generally id., Ex. D (ECF No. 1-1 at 47-49). Additional attachments to the complaint show that plaintiff filed a motion in his criminal case for release of grand jury transcripts and other information, see id., Ex. C. (ECF No. 1-1 at 33-35), which the court denied, see id., Ex. C (ECF No. 1-1 at 43-45). II. ANALYSIS A. Trump, Barr, Gerson, Harlow, Bordley and two “John Does” Are Dismissed as Party Defendants “This Court’s jurisdiction to enforce the FOIA is limited to enjoining agency noncompliance,” Stone v. Defense Investigative Serv., 816 F. Supp. 782, 785 (D.D.C. 1993) (citing 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B)), and a claim under FOIA can only proceed against a federal government agency. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B); Cooper v. Stewart, No. 11-5061, 2011 WL 6758484, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 15, 2011) (per curiam) (affirming dismissal FOIA claims against individual defendants because FOIA “only authorizes suits against certain executive branch “agencies,” not individuals”). 2 Defendants to this action are the President of the United ...
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