Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OBERDORFER, District Judge. I. This memorandum addresses the second, third, fourth, and fifth phases of a voluminous Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) suit in which plaintiffs seek access to various government documents relating to the investigation of John (a/k/a Ivan) Demjanjuk by the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations (“OSI”) and to his subsequent denatu-ralization. The first phase of this FOIA request was the subject of a memorandum filed May 15, 1987, holding that the work product privilege contained in 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) protected certain investigative reports sought by plaintiffs from disclosure. See Nishnic v. United States Dept. of Justice, 671 F.Supp. 771 (D.D.C.1987), appeal pending. That Memorandum, together with the Memorandum filed March 16, 1987, relates the factual circumstances of these requests so that it is not necessary to reiterate them here. The second phase of this FOIA request concerns 159 diplomatic messages transmitted from OSI or the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) through the State Department to and from foreign governments. Of these documents, defendant has withheld one in its entirety (Doc. 292), released eleven in full (Docs. 134-142, 252 and 278), and released in part and withheld in part, one hundred and forty seven (Docs. 143-251, 253-277, and 279-291). Fifteen additional diplomatic cables described in defendant’s Vaughn index No. 3 (Docs. 487-500, 504), which were released in part, will also be considered in this phase. Defendant bases its exemption claims variously on Exemption 2 (matters relating solely to an agency’s internal personnel rules and practices); Exemption 5 (work product and deliberative process material involved in trial preparation and evidence evaluation); Exemption 6 (personnel and medical files and similar files whose disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy); Exemption 7(A) (law enforcement records or information whose production could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings); Exemption 7(C) (law enforcement records or information whose production could reasonably be expected to constitute unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, in this case privacy of potential witnesses, individuals of investigative interest to OSI, OSI targets, third parties mentioned in reports, and Justice Department staff); and Exemption 7(D) (confidential sources, i.e., names of foreign entities which provided and are still providing information to OSI). Defendant contends that these exemptions have been correctly applied to the documents in question and moves for partial summary judgment. Defendant has supported its motion with a Vaughn index which describes each of the 159 documents at issue, with copies of 141 redacted cables attached, as well as a Declaration by L. Jeffrey Ross (“2d Ross Dec.”), Chief of the FOIA Unit in the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, which describes the exemptions that apply to those portions of the documents that have been withheld. Defendant also provides an Affidavit from Neal M. Sher (“Sher Aff.”), Director of OSI, which analyzes in detail 12 sample diplomatic messages, an Affidavit from Bruce J. Einhom, Senior Trial Attorney, OSI, and a detailed Statement of Material Facts Not in Dispute (“DSMF2”). II. A. Plaintiffs contend that defendant has not provided a sufficiently detailed factual foundation in its Vaughn index and supporting affidavits to justify the FOIA exemptions claimed. Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (“Plaintiffs’ 2d Opp.”) at 1-4. The Court of Appeals recently addressed the standard of specificity required of Vaughn indexes in FOIA cases. See Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v. United States Dept. of Justice, 823 F.2d 574, 584-587 (D.C.Cir.1987). In that case, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) sought to withhold a number of documents enumerated in a FOIA request. In support of its withholdings, the DOJ submitted a Vaughn index that the district court described as “set[ting] out ‘each document being withheld, why it is being withheld, and the nature of the document to the extent feasible without revealing any details regarding the privileged contents of the document.’ ” Id. at 17 (quoting Memorandum, No. 84-1829, mem. op. at 7 (D.D.C. Feb. 7, 1986)). The Court of Appeals rejected the district court’s view that such explanations provided sufficient justification for the DOJ’s claimed exemptions. The case was remanded with directions that the DOJ “supply additional information so that a reviewing court can sensibly determine whether each invocation of [the exemptions] is properly grounded.” Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d at 584. The Court in Puerto Rico relied on criteria established in Mead Data Central, Inc. v. United States Dept. of the Air Force, 566 F.2d 242 (D.C.Cir.1977). See Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d at 587 (noting that the “decision in Mead Data remains perhaps the best general guide” to the detail agencies must provide to support FOIA exemptions). Mead Data addressed withholding claims under FOIA Exemption 5. Before evaluating the particulars of the disputed claim, the Court announced a general rule: [W]hen an agency seeks to withhold information it must provide a relatively detailed justification, specifically identifying the reasons why a particular exemption is relevant and correlating those claims with the particular part of a withheld document to which they apply. Mead Data, 566 F.2d at 251 (citing, inter alia, Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820, 826-28 (D.C.Cir.1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 977, 94 S.Ct. 1564, 39 L.Ed.2d 873 (1974)). A two-fold purpose appears to underlie this rule. First, a relatively detailed index permits “the requesting party to present its case effectively.” Mead Data, 566 F.2d at 251 (footnote omitted). Second, a detailed explanation “allow[s] the courts to determine the validity of the Government’s claims without physically examining each document.” Coastal States Gas Corp. v. Department of Energy, 617 F.2d 854, 861 (D.C.Cir.1980). In an effort to achieve these purposes in FOIA litigation, a broad standard of specificity has been imposed on defendants seeking to withhold requested information. Vaughn v. Rosen, while announcing “that courts will [not] ... accept conclusory and generalized allegations of exemptions,” 484 F.2d at 826 (citing E.P.A. v. Mink, 410 U.S. 73, 93 S.Ct. 827, 35 L.Ed.2d 119 (1973)), held that “[a]n analysis sufficiently detailed would not have to contain factual descriptions that if made public would compromise the secret nature of the information,” Vaughn, 484 F.2d at 826. In Mead Data, the defendant had submitted affidavits in which “[t]he source, subject matter, and nature of each document were described separately, and although not individually stated for each document, it [was] clear from the nature of the documents ... which justifications apply to which documents.” Mead Data, 566 F.2d at 252. The court there found that “the withheld documents [had been] described in sufficient detail to allow [plaintiff] to argue effectively against [defendant’s] exemption claims.” Id. at 251. Accordingly, the justifications provided an adequate foundation for judicial review of those claims. Upon undertaking that review, the Mead Data Court ruled that “an agency must show by detailed and specific justification that information it seeks to withhold from public disclosure falls within one of the exemptions to the FOIA.” Id. at 259. With respect to at least one document at issue, the court ruled that the Air Force had fallen short of that standard. The court admonished, “An agency cannot meet its statutory burden of justification by con-clusory allegations” concerning an essential element of a FOIA exemption. Id. at 258. In Coastal States, Mead Data served as the standard against which the Department of Energy’s (“DOE’s”) exemption justifications were evaluated and found to be insufficient. The court noted that a typical entry in the DOE’s index only identifie[d] who wrote the memorandum, to whom it was addressed, its date, and a brief description of the memorandum such as “Advice on audit of reseller whether product costs can include imported freight charges, discounts, or rental fees.” Coastal States, 617 F.2d at 861. The DOE had relied on such skeletal justifications to withhold entire documents under FOIA Exemption 5 as attorney work product and deliberative process information. Id. Citing the fact that the affidavits purporting to support the index were themselves no more than conclusory reiterations of the index’s brief descriptions, the court ruled that the DOE’s index was “inadequate to permit a court to decide whether the exemption was properly claimed.” Id. The court found, for example, that descriptions like that quoted above could not establish that the withheld information had been compiled “in contemplation of litigation,” id. at 864-66; nor that it was “predecisional,” id. at 868-69. Because these two elements of Exemption 5 had been neither proven nor even addressed in the DOE’s index and affidavits, the court could not “determine whether all elements of the privileges were present in each document.” Coastal States, 617 F.2d at 861 (interpreting standard articulated in Mead Data). The court ruled, “[C]onclusory assertions of privilege will not suffice to carry the Government’s burden of proof in defending FOIA cases.” Id. Puerto Rico adopted Coastal States’ standard, Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d at 584, yet declined to “endeavor an encompassing definition of ‘conclusory assertion,’ ” id. at 585. Instead, the court concluded, “[I]t is enough to observe that where no factual support is provided for an essential element of the claimed privilege or shield, the label ‘conclusory’ is surely apt.” Id. The DOJ had in that case submitted a Vaughn index which the court characterized as “consisting almost entirely of each document’s issue date, its author and intended recipient, and the briefest of references to its subject matter....” Id. The DOJ’s entire Vaughn index has been reproduced in an appendix to Puerto Rico. A typical entry reads: DOCUMENT DELETION EXEMPTION C-28 Memo dated 8-19-Information pertaining (B)(5) 80 from Stephen Clark, to the preparation of in- Attorney, CRT, to the formation and matters File. (1 page) RE: for litigation is deleted Telephone conversation. as attorney work product. Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d 590. Finding that such cursory descriptions failed to establish that the withheld documents had been prepared ‘in contemplation of litigation,’ the court concluded that “a critical element of the DOJ’s entitlement to the claimed shield awaits proof.” Id. at 586. Consequently, the court ruled that “[t]he information provided by the DOJ ... will not do.” Id. at 585. The DOJ’s submissions in Nishnic satisfy the standard of specificity established in these cases. As an initial matter, it must be emphasized that in none of these four phases does the DOJ rely exclusively on a Vaughn index to meet its burden of proof under FOIA. In each phase, the DOJ has submitted an affidavit from Neal M. Sher in which he describes in general the entire group of documents at issue in that segment and then analyzes in detail a number of samples representative of the documents as a group. The Sher Affidavits represent careful and thorough explanations of the facts pertinent to the disputed documents, and to the Demjanjuk denaturalization proceedings generally. Mr. Sher, Director of OSI’s criminal division, is the individual chiefly responsible for the enforcement of immigration and naturalization laws as they relate to all individuals who were associated with the Nazi government in Germany, or with its allies, and who participated in the persecution of Jews and others during the Holocaust. See Sher Aff. ¶¶ 1-4. The Sher Affidavits are factual declarations from one intimately acquainted not only with the materials at issue in this litigation but also with the surrounding history and present circumstances of OSI investigations. Plaintiffs have failed to impeach the credibility of Mr. Sher, of the representations in his affidavits, or of Defendant’s Statements of Material Facts, which reflect those representations. Finally, the DOJ has submitted with every Vaughn index redacted copies of the documents from which information has been withheld. Hundreds of pages of documents have been released to plaintiffs, often with only a small portion excised. This practice supplements the explanations in the Vaughn indices, Sher Affidavits, and Statements of Material Facts with the documents themselves, minus only those fragments for which an exemption has been claimed. The DOJ has thus provided more, and more detailed, justifications for the exemptions it claims than Mead Data and Puerto Rico demand. Yet had the DOJ sought to rely exclusively on their Vaughn indexes as support for withholding information, it would still have satisfied the standard for specificity and detail established in these cases. A typical index entry, describing a document withheld in full under FOIA Exemption 5, reads as follows: DOC. NO. DESCRIPTION . . . DESCRIPTION OF DELETIONS MADE EXEMPTIONS 100 Memorandum, October 25, 1978, Martin Mendelsohn to file. This is a one page memorandum to the file commemorating the events of a meeting among the trial attorneys preparing to litigate the Demjanjuk case. It memorializes the plans discussed and serves as a reminder for future reference of how duties were delegated. ATWP and PDPP. (b)(5) Defendant’s Fifth Vaughn index, at Doc. 100. This description certainly constitutes a “relatively detailed analysis” of the withheld document. Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d at 826. Further, the index entry “correlate[s] statements made in the Government’s refusal justification with the actual portions of the document.” Id. at 827. Moreover, the entry describes the “withheld documents ... in sufficient detail to allow [plaintiff] to argue effectively against [defendant’s] exemption claims.” Mead Data, 566 F.2d at 251. Finally, the DOJ’s Vaughn indexes, considered alone and as part of a mutually reinforcing submission including affidavits and redacted documents, have permitted judicial determination of “whether all elements of the privileges were present in each document.” Coastal States, 617 F.2d at 861. In Puerto Rico, the defendant had failed to adduce proof that the information withheld as attorney work product had been prepared “in anticipation of litigation,” one element essential to a claim under Exemption 5. See Puerto Rico, 828 F.2d at 586. Plaintiff in that case sought information gathered by the DOJ regarding an incident that had occurred in 1978. The court noted with particular concern that the DOJ investigation had been closed officially in April of 1980 and had not been reopened until August of 1983. Id. The DOJ claimed the work product privilege as justification for withholding information gathered throughout the five years following the incident, including the three-year period during which the investigation had been officially closed. The DOJ had neglected, however, to provide “any additional support” to overcome the court’s “reluc-tan[ce] to credit a claim that documents generated while there was no active investigation underway were prepared ‘in anticipation of litigation.’ ” Id. (footnotes omitted). In contrast, the defendant in this case established by formal representations of a fully informed attorney in oral argument on August 28, 1987 that all information withheld under Exemption 5 was compiled after early summer of 1976, when the DOJ commenced the investigation leading to the Demjanjuk denaturalization proceeding. See Transcript of August 28, 1987 Hearing (“Transcript”) at 25-26. In 1982, before the appeals process had been exhausted in the denaturalization proceeding, the DOJ commenced deportation proceedings against Mr. Demjanjuk. That process was interrupted by the Demjanjuk extradition proceeding in 1983. Defendant represents that in the event that Mr. Demjanjuk returns to the United States, the pending deportation proceedings may resume. Transcript at 28-29. Thus, starting in 1976 and continuing through the present, the DOJ has been actively and continuously preparing for or participating in litigation with a view to the denaturalization or deportation of Mr. Demjanjuk. Defendant here has avoided the pitfall encountered in Puerto Rico, where the DOJ failed to submit any evidence to prove that the withheld information had been compiled in anticipation of litigation, an essential element of Exemption 5. No similar lapse of proof has occurred in this case. Accordingly, defendant’s descriptions of and justifications for its claimed FOIA exemptions satisfy the burden of proof imposed by Puerto Rico. B. Plaintiffs argue that defendant cannot “unilaterally” adopt a sampling procedure absent an agreement with plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ 2d Opp. at 5. Plaintiffs’ challenge to the use of samples in the second and subsequent phases of this expansive FOIA suit must fail. First, there is ample support for the use of sampling in voluminous FOIA cases. See Meeropol v. Meese, 790 F.2d 942, 958-959 (D.C.Cir.1986). Second, plaintiffs ignore the fact that the authors of the Vaughn index examined each of the 159 documents at issue in this second phase; the sample is simply a supplement to a Vaughn index that describes each document and the factual basis for each exemption claimed by defendant. Redacted copies of the documents are also attached to the Vaughn index. Defendant’s detailed analysis of 12 samples in this second phase thus supplements an already comprehensive catalogue of the 159 documents at issue. The sampling method was first developed as a practical approach to voluminous FOIA disputes in which no complete descriptive index of every withheld document was available. In Weisberg v. United States Dept. of Justice, 745 F.2d 1476, 1489-90 (D.C.Cir.1984), sampling was endorsed even where the Vaughn index itself was based on a sample. Thus, sampling was held to be an appropriate substitute for an exhaustive catalogue such as defendant has submitted in this case. Vaughn v. Rosen, in which this Circuit articulated the standards of specificity governing a FOIA defendant’s claims of exemption, was itself applied by the District Court on remand to require an index describing only nine “representative reports” out of 2,448 reports requested by the plaintiff. See Vaughn v. Rosen, 523 F.2d 1136, 1139-40 (D.C.Cir.1975). The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s disposition on the basis of that nine-sample Vaughn index alone. Id. at 1140. Under this standard, the present defendant’s more detailed analysis of 12 of the 159 diplomatic messages already described in the Vaughn index provides an appropriate foundation for evaluating defendant’s claimed exemptions. Plaintiffs’ challenge to the sampling method employed in this and subsequent phases ignores the sample’s role as, essentially, a supplemental analysis of documents representative of all indexed documents. While this detailed representative analysis illuminates the nexus between the documents at issue and the various exemptions involved, that sample does not represent the sole source of information upon which to evaluate defendant’s opposition to plaintiffs’ FOIA request. Consequently, the sampling approach contributes to and does not disadvantage plaintiffs’ effort to retrieve all documents to which they are entitled under FOIA. Plaintiffs contend further that defendant has not explained why it decided that the 12 documents discussed by Mr. Sher in this phase are representative. Plaintiffs’ 2d Opp. at 7. On the contrary, defendant has provided a satisfactory explanation of its rationale for selecting the 12 documents. According to an Affidavit by Bruce J. Ein-horn (“Einhorn Aff.”), filed with defendant’s reply, after reviewing all 159 of the diplomatic messages, the 12 documents were selected by Mr. Sher and Mr. Einhorn as representative samples based on the foreign countries involved, the subject matter, and the nature and extent of material defendant believes to be exempt under FOIA. Einhorn Aff. II5. For example, two of the sample documents analyzed by Mr. Sher were notes from OSI to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the United States Embassy in Moscow (Docs. 149, 182). The 159 documents described by the Sher Affidavit, Vaughn index No. 2, and DSMF2, albeit in lesser detail, contain 20 documents transmitted to or received from the Soviet Union. The balance of the 12 samples originate from or were transmitted to other countries, i.e., East Germany, West Germany, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, Israel, and certain South American nations. Defendant’s sample, considered together with the Vaughn index, the Second Ross Declaration, and the redacted documents, confirms that the defendant has identified and adequately described every document at issue in this phase of the suit. With respect to the particular exemption claims raised in this second phase, the facts are fully summarized in DSMF2 and are not directly disputed by plaintiffs’ Statement of Genuine Issues (“PSGI2”). Plaintiffs do challenge some of defendant’s rationales, as discussed infra in Section III, but they do not traverse specific factual assertions. There are, of course, obvious limitations on the ability of plaintiffs in FOIA suits to challenge the description of documents and portions of documents that are withheld by defendants. Plaintiffs have failed, however, effectively to impeach the credibility of defendant’s affidavits and Vaughn index as summarized in DSMF2. Accordingly, DSMF2 (incorporated herein by reference) can be honored as a fair exposition of the relevant facts. III. Using the statement of material facts (DSMF2) as a matrix, analysis of both the facts there stated and the applicable law yield the following findings and conclusions: 1. Defendant withheld file numbers and target identification numbers which appear on the originals of documents 143-147, 149-184, 188-198, 200-201, 203-205, 210-213, 215-216, 227, 248, 254-256, 258-259, 268-269, 271, 276, 279-280, 285, 287 and 289. DSMF2 1t 8; Vaughn index No. 2. Plaintiffs do not dispute this assertion. PSGI2 113. Defendant also withheld file numbers on Docs. 487-497, 499-500, and 504. Vaughn index No. 3. This information is exempt from disclosure by 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(2) because this information relates solely to internal personnel practices of the relevant agency. As the May 15, 1987 Memorandum held, defendant’s use of Exemption 2 “to delete all internal OSI file numbers is entirely reasonable.” Id. at 11; see Lesar v. United States Dept. of Justice, 636 F.2d 472, 485-86 (D.C.Cir.1980) (symbols used to refer to FBI informants in FBI documents and records exempt from disclosure under Exemption 2). Budget appropriation numbers appearing on documents 185 and 266 are not exempt and should be disclosed. 2. Invoking FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C), defendant withholds from a number of documents the names of non-attorney, non-supervisory OSI personnel (including OSI investigators, historians, and secretaries) who, in the performance of their duties, were involved in the creation of the particular document. These documents include four Reports of Investigation (“ROIs”), Docs. 103-105 and 131, which were at issue in Defendant’s First Motion for Partial Summary Judgment but were set aside for consideration in the context of the present motion for summary judgment. The documents at issue also include Docs. 143-146, 149-162, 164-184, 188-198, 200, 203, 210-213, 215-216, 234, 254-256, 259, 268-269, 271, 276, 279-280, 285, 287 and 289. DSMF2 1110. They also include Docs. 487-500, and 504. Vaughn index No. 3. Invoking Exemptions 6 and 7(C), defendant has also withheld the names of other categories of individuals. The names of OSI targets other than Demjanjuk were withheld in Docs. 187, 246 and 253. DSMF2 1111; Defendant’s Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment at 16. The names of persons identified and/or interviewed as potential witnesses by government personnel were . withheld in Docs. 103-104 (consideration of these documents was stayed in the Memorandum of May 15, 1987 concerning Defendant’s First Motion for Partial Summary Judgment), 143-144, 146, 148-161, 163-167, 169-174, 178-179, 183, 194, 196, 198, 200, 203-205, 209, 212-216, 218-230, 232-235, 237-239, 241-242, 245, 248, 254-256, 260, 262, 263, 264, 265, 269-270, 274, 275, 279-280, 282, 286, 288, and 290-291. DSMF ¶ 11; 2d Ross Dec. ¶ 8; Defendant’s Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment at 16. Finally, defendant has withheld the names of third parties incidentally mentioned in reports, and the names of other individuals of investigative interest to OSI for law enforcement purposes (but not yet charged) and who were not witnesses. These names were withheld in Docs. 145, 151, 156-158, 161-165, 167-168, 170-171, 175-183, 186, 191-193, 195, 199-202, 206-208, 211, 271, 220, 224, 231, 233, 236, 240, 243-244, 246-247, 254-257, 259, 261, 265-267, 269, 271, 281-283, 286-287, 289, and 291. DSMF2 1111; 2d Ross Dee. 118. They were also withheld in Docs. 490, 492, and 500. Vaughn index No. 3. Exemption 6 applies to “personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). Exemption 7(C) applies to “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information ... could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C). Exemptions 6 and 7 both require a balancing of the personal privacy interest at stake against the public’s interest in disclosure. See Stern v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 737 F.2d 84, 91 (D.C.Cir.1984); Fund for Constitutional Government v. National Archives, 656 F.2d 856, 862 (D.C.Cir.1981); Lesar, 636 F.2d at 486. By its terms, Exemption 7(C) provides broader protection for personal privacy interests. Exemption 7(C) protects information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to result in an unwarranted invasion of privacy. Exemption 6 imposes a greater burden on a defendant: under that provision, an agency may withhold requested information only if its disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. See Stern, 737 F.2d at 91 (“Exemption 7(C) places a greater emphasis on protecting personal privacy than does Exemption 6_”). Exemption 7(C) has a threshold requirement that the requested documents are “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C). See Pratt v. Webster, 673 F.2d 408 (D.C.Cir.1982). Defendant contends that all of the documents at issue here were compiled between 1978 and 1985, during the course of, or as a result of, a law enforcement investigation of Demjanjuk and others pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a) (denaturalization) and 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a) (deportation). DSMF2 ¶ 9; 2d Ross Dec. ¶ 6; Sher Aff. ¶ 10. Plaintiffs do not dispute that these particular documents were “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes.” PSGI2 118. The government has met its burden of showing that the documents at issue meet the threshold requirement of 7(C). All documents at issue in phase two, if exempt under Exemption 6, would also be exempt under the broader provision of 7(C) since it is undisputed that all documents meet that exemption’s threshold requirement. Neither party, in addition, differentiates its analysis of the privacy issue here as between Exemption 6 or 7(C) claims. Accordingly, it is appropriate to evaluate all privacy-based deletions as though claimed under Exemption 7(C) alone. In this second phase, defendant argues that the non-attorney OSI personnel whose names are deleted have a strong personal privacy interest in nondisclosure: Based upon the highly publicized and emotionally charged nature of the proceedings involving John Demjanjuk (including his pending trial in Israel), disclosure of the identities of these individuals would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of their privacy, an impairment of their ongoing and official duties, and raise a real possibility that retaliation, coercion, harassment or annoyance would be directed at them or their families. Sher Aff. If 11(b). Defendant also describes threats of physical harm directed against OSI employees or supporters. Id. The defendant has also argued in a persuasive affidavit of a knowledgeable expert that risks of reprisal or harassment would accompany disclosure of the names of individuals under investigation by OSI and names of individuals who have been interviewed as potential witnesses. See Sher Aff. ¶¶[ 12(c), 12(d), 16(b), 17(b), 18(b), 19(b), and 21(b). As the Sher Affidavit states: The mere mention of an individual’s identity in the record of a law enforcement proceeding ... may lead to harassment of the person or stigmatizing connotations. For example, such an individual may upon disclosure be regarded, however unfairly and incorrectly, as the subject of a law enforcement investigation or as a source of sensitive or critical information in such an investigation. Id. at 1112(c). Mr. Sher also described threats of physical harm directed against an OSI supporter, as well as the fact that two defendants in suits brought by OSI were later victims of bombings. Id. at ¶ 11(b). Defendant also argues that individuals who were identified or interviewed as potential witnesses by OSI, but who have not actually appeared as witnesses in any of the Demjanjuk proceedings, also have a strong privacy interest in nondisclosure. Holocaust survivors, in particular, have a strong privacy interest in not having their identity and war time experiences disclosed against their will. Disclosure may “raise a real possibility of retaliation, coercion, harassment, or annoyance” from OSI critics in light of the “highly publicized and emotionally charged nature of the proceedings against Demjanjuk.” Sher Aff. 1117(b)(2). Plaintiffs challenge defendant’s claim that all categories of persons involved in the documents in question possess a personal privacy interest recognized under Exemption 7(C), although they have now conceded that “persons who have been targeted by OSI have substantial privacy interests at stake.” Plaintiffs’ Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Third Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (“Plaintiffs’ 3d Opp.”) at 15 n. 8. The core of plaintiffs’ opposition to defendant’s privacy claims appears to be an argument that a general atmosphere of tension and a catalogue of threatening incidents cannot, without more, establish that any given individual’s privacy interests are at risk. Plaintiffs’ challenge on these grounds does not accord with the law embodied in FOIA Exemption 7(C). At the outset, it must be emphasized that the statute’s express terms establish a standard of proof for defendant that is far less stringent than plaintiffs advocate. Exemption 7(C) demands only that the information sought to be withheld be of the sort that, if disclosed, “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C). Plaintiffs appear to suggest that, for each individual whose identity is withheld, the defendant must prove a threat that is specific to that individual and likely — not only “reasonably expected” — to materialize or to recur as an actual invasion of personal privacy. However, as defendant points out, it is reasonable to expect that acts of retaliation and harassment directed against a Baltic-American who simply voiced support for the work of OSI could also be directed against witnesses or investigators who have contributed actively to OSI operations. Defendant argues, persuasively, that Exemption 7(C) would be eroded as a device for protecting personal privacy if only those persons who have already suffered annoyance or intimidation may benefit from its provision for nondisclosure. See Lesar, 636 F.2d at 487 (privacy interest of FBI agents recognized where disclosure of their role in investigating the King assassination “conceivably” could subject them to harassment); see also New England Apple Council v. Donovan, 725 F.2d 139, 142 (1st Cir.1984) (Exemption 7(C) protects non-supervisory law enforcement personnel from conceivable annoyance following disclosure of their identity; 7(C) not limited to cases involving an “actual showing of harassment or other harm to government officials” (citing Lesar, 636 F.2d at 487)). Case law governing the application of 7(C) similarly fails to support plaintiffs’ claim that the threatened invasion of a personal privacy interest must be proven more precisely for each category of persons named in these documents. The categories of persons found to possess privacy interests cognizable under 7(C) have been determined in this Circuit to be quite broad. In Weisberg, plaintiff sought information from the Department of Justice pertaining to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This Circuit held that Exemption 7(C) embraced the privacy interests of broad categories of individuals mentioned in documents pertaining to the King inquiry. Protected categories included FBI agents, persons who were investigated or interviewed, and third persons whose names appeared in the documents at issue. Weisberg, 745 F.2d at 1491. Stern determined that Exemption 7(C) also embraced privacy interests of “lower-level [FBI] employees” censured for negligence in an agency cover-up of illegal surveillance activities. Stern, 737 F.2d at 91. In Lesar, a FOIA case also having to do with information about Dr. King’s assassination, Exemption 7(C) was invoked to protect the privacy interests not only of informants and FBI personnel, but also of Dr. King’s family members and associates. Lesar, 636 F.2d at 487-88. All of the categories of persons for whom defendant here asserts a privacy interest fall within those categories protected in this Circuit’s recent 7(C) cases. Thus, plaintiffs’ argument that defendant has not established that, for instance, the OSI investigator in a particular document has a privacy interest in his or her identity is simply inaccurate as a matter of law. As is true with FBI agents, OSI officials “have a legitimate interest in preserving the secrecy of matters that conceivably could subject them to annoyance or harassment in either their official or private lives.” Lesar, 636 F.2d at 487. This is not to approve, of course, a blanket exemption for the names of all OSI personnel in all documents, id. at 487-88; rather, it is to conclude that identification of the individuals involved in the Demjanjuk investigations and proceedings would implicate their privacy interests “in light of the contemporary and controversial nature” of those proceedings. Id. at 488. Not only does Exemption 7(C) embrace the interests of broad categories of persons, it also contemplates “invasions” of widely varied types. In Puerto Rico, this Circuit recognized “substantial” privacy interests at stake where disclosure of identities could lead to “embarrassment and potentially more serious reputational harm.” Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d at 588. Weisberg recognized that “annoyance or harassment in [persons’] official or private lives” constituted the kind of invasion that 7(C) was intended to prevent. Weisberg, 745 F.2d at 1491. Baez v. United States Dept. of Justice, 647 F.2d 1328, 1339 (D.C.Cir.1980) enforced the application of 7(C) where disclosure of the identity of FBI agents could subject them to “discomfort”. In Lesar, this Circuit sustained a 7(C) exemption, observing, “It is difficult if not impossible, to anticipate all respects in which disclosure might damage reputations or lead to personal embarrassment and discomfort.” 636 F.2d at 488. See Miller v. Bell, 661 F.2d 623, 630 (7th Cir.1981) (holding that harassment need not rise to the level of endangering physical safety before the protections of 7(C) can be invoked), cert. denied sub nom. Miller v. Webster, 456 U.S. 960, 102 S.Ct. 2035, 72 L.Ed.2d 484 (1982). Moreover, persons whose names are mentioned in records compiled during an investigation such as that culminating in Dem-janjuk may be stigmatized by their association with the atrocities revealed. See Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d at 588; see also Stern, 737 F.2d at 91-92 (“individuals have a strong interest in not being associated unwarrantedly with alleged criminal activity”); Bast v. United States Dept. of Justice, 665 F.2d 1251, 1254 (D.C.Cir.1981) (“7(C) exemption recognizes the stigma potentially associated with law enforcement investigations and affords broader privacy rights to suspects, witnesses, and investigators”). Third parties mentioned in reports might also be stigmatized if their names are associated with OSI investigations. Miller, 661 F.2d at 631-32. Finally, a personal privacy interest has been recognized in an official’s capability to perform his public tasks effectively by avoiding untoward annoyance or harassment. New England Apple Council, 725 F.2d at 143. In the second phase of Nishnic, defendant seeks to protect a number of categories of individuals from invasions of personal privacy. In support of its claims, defendant has described an atmosphere of tension, intimidation, and actual violence that surrounds OSI investigations pertaining to the Demjanjuk proceedings. The examples of harassment that defendant relates give acute definition to that more general description. See Lesar, 636 F.2d at 488 (affirming 7(C) exemption of information even though defendant had spoken “in somewhat general terms of the privacy interest at stake[,]” where further inquiry could not have been made without revealing withheld information). Given the broad range of individuals protected from a similarly broad variety of “invasions” of privacy under this Circuit’s interpretation of 7(C), defendant has carried its burden of proving that legitimate and substantial personal privacy interests would be threatened by recognized “invasions” upon disclosure of the identities now deleted from the documents at issue. Plaintiffs’ argument to the contrary must be rejected. Since the individuals at issue possess personal privacy interests of the sort contemplated by Exemption 7(C), and since disclosure of their identities would result in the kind of “invasion” of privacy that 7(C) was designed to prevent, there remains for consideration the question of whether such an invasion would be “unwarranted.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C). Exemption 7(C) requires a balancing of the interest in personal privacy against the public interest in disclosure. See Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d at 587; Stern, 737 F.2d at 91. Plaintiffs contend that the defendant has failed to provide the information necessary for the Court to assess the propriety of defendant’s exception claims under 7(C). Plaintiffs’ 2d Opp. at 23. Plaintiffs are mistaken. As discussed above, defendant here has firmly established that recognized personal privacy rights of persons embraced by 7(C) would be threatened upon disclosure of the identities now redacted in the documents at issue. It is plaintiffs who have failed to establish a countervailing public interest in disclosure that would require tipping of the balance away from the protection of these substantial privacy interests. Plaintiffs have not demonstrated a countervailing public interest in disclosure of the names of non-supervisory OSI personnel. They ' are not potential witnesses against or for Mr. Demjanjuk and there is a very real danger that they will be subjected to threats and harassment by critics of OSI. See Lesar, 636 F.2d at 487-88 (FBI personnel have legitimate privacy interest in avoiding disclosure of their names when disclosure could subject them to annoyance or harassment; no countervailing public interest in disclosure). Plaintiffs also have not demonstrated a countervailing public interest in disclosure of the names of OSI targets, persons of investigative interest to OSI, or third parties mentioned in OSI reports. There is, in fact, a strong public interest in favor of nondisclosure. There is uncontradicted expert opinion that ongoing investigations could be compromised and the flow of information to OSI impeded if these names were disclosed. Sher Aff. ¶¶ 12(d), 15(c), 15(e), 18(b). At an earlier stage in these proceedings, plaintiffs aroused the Court’s concern that the defendant might not be as responsive to the plaintiffs' requests as the dramatic circumstances of this case justify. See Memorandum, March 16, 1987, at 10-11. Since that time, however, other than documents which are demonstrably work product, defendant has produced copies of virtually all of the texts of the documents subject to plaintiffs’ requests, together with the comprehensive Vaughn indexes, affidavits, and samples discussed in detail above. Redactions have been limited generally to names of individuals, disclosure of which would jeopardize legitimate privacy interests. Unless there is a counterbalancing public interest in the disclosure of those names, the law requires that the courts honor the defendant’s exemption privilege. There is, of course, a public interest in our government’s conducting itself fairly and humanely. The judiciary shares in this obligation to the extent of ensuring that the administrative process handling FOIA requests, and judicial review of those proceedings, should not be delayed. A bona fide request for the production of documents must be honored in time for that information to be useful. However, since March 16, 1987, if not theretofor, defendant has gone to great lengths to be prompt, thorough, and forthcoming to the fullest extent required by law. The courts should require no more. Plaintiffs also addressed the question of whether there is a public interest in disclosure of the names of potential witnesses who might be able to furnish exculpatory testimony in Mr. Demjanjuk’s criminal trial in Israel. Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for a Protective Order at 33 (March 10, 1987). Plaintiffs contended that: Here, the requester’s interest is substantial — Demjanjuk is on trial in a capital case and the names of witnesses who the Government found not useful in the de-naturalization proceeding may provide exculpatory evidence. The public interest is virtually as great, implicating due process and fundamental fairness concerns, even though Demjanjuk is not on trial in the United States. Id. (footnote omitted). Plaintiffs’ intimation that their original FOIA suit was motivated by a desire to obtain exculpatory evidence for use in current Israeli criminal proceedings against Mr. Demjanjuk has remained unelaborated in this phase of the suit. Moreover, at oral argument on August 28, 1987, counsel for plaintiffs indicated that Israeli criminal prosecutors are under an even more comprehensive disclosure obligation than that which Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 18 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), imposes on prosecutors in the United States. See Transcript at 50-51. Further, plaintiffs’ interest, if any, in the names of potential witnesses (none of whom has ever testified in the various proceedings against Demjanjuk in the United States or in Israel) has been held to be a decidedly private interest. See Lloyd and Henniger v. Marshall, 526 F.Supp. 485, 487 (M.D.Fla.1981) (“... a party’s asserted need for documents in connection with litigation will not affect, one way or the other, a determination of whether disclosure is warranted under FOIA”). The Supreme Court has indicated that FOIA is emphatically not designed for use as a general discovery device for purposes of civil or criminal litigation. See United States v. Weber Aircraft Corp., 465 U.S. 792, 801, 104 S.Ct. 1488, 1493, 79 L.Ed.2d 814 (1984) (noting that the Supreme Court has consistently rejected a construction of FOIA that would allow it to be used to supplement civil discovery). See also Martin v. Office of Special Counsel, MSPB, 819 F.2d 1181, 1186 (D.C.Cir. June 5, 1987) (same). Accordingly, plaintiffs’ reliance on a general public interest in access to information of alleged relevance to ongoing litigation is not supported by authority. See Puerto Rico, slip op. at 25, 823 F.2d at 588 (balance tips in favor of privacy interests where only “general” public interest in ‘getting to the bottom’ of possible official complicity in politically-inspired homicide). There is no public interest in disclosure of these names that outweighs the privacy interests of the individuals whose identities are now protected. Nor does the unexplained disclosure of nine documents bearing some of the names sought by plaintiffs justify disclosure and further confirmation of their identify. See Weisberg, 745 F.2d at 1490-91. In Weisberg, the plaintiff had pieced together information about the identity of two alleged informants in the FBI investigation of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Court found that this “in no way undermines the privacy interests of these individuals in avoiding harassment and annoyance that could result should the FBI confirm to Mr. Weisberg the presence of their names in the King documents.” Id. at 1491. In conclusion, the public interest, if any, in disclosure of the names now deleted from the documents at issue here is outweighed by the substantial privacy interests at stake for those individuals. Consequently, the identities in these documents must be exempt from disclosure under FOIA because their disclosure “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C). 3. One document, Doc. 151, raises special concerns. Defendant released a redacted copy of that document as an attachment to its Second Vaughn index. Invoking Exemptions 6 and 7(C), defendant withheld the names of a prospective witness, a non-witness third party, several non-attorney OSI personnel, and an Israeli law enforcement officer. See Vaughn index No. 2. In withholding the name of the potential witness, defendant stated that that individual “did not ultimately testify in any of the Demjanjuk proceedings held in the United States.” Sher Aff. 1112. Plaintiffs attach great significance to this document. They first point out that it has been misdescribed in the Sher Affidavit as “a one-page cable dated February 10, 1981 from the Government of Israel to OSI via the American Embassy in Tel Aviv and the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C.” Plaintiffs’ 2d Opp. at 17 (quoting Sher Aff. II12). Examination of the redacted copy of Doc. 151 reveals that the document is, in fact, a message to the Government of Israel from OSI via a cable to the American Embassy in Tel Aviv from the United States Department of State. In short, defendant mistakenly inverted the source and the recipient of the document. Defendant correctly described the contents of the document as a cable discussing “the proposed travel plans to the United States of a possible Israeli witness in the Demjan-juk denaturalization trial,” Sher Aff. 1112, and indicated that the witness “did not ultimately testify in any of the Demjanjuk proceedings held in the United States.” Id. Plaintiffs obtained from the Israeli prosecution an unexcised copy of a document resembling Doc. 151 and attached it as Exhibit B to Plaintiffs’ Second Opposition. See Plaintiffs’ Response to the Request of the Court for Unredaeted Documents, filed August 25, 1987. The document in plaintiffs’ possession disclosed, inter alia, the name of one Holocaust survivor, Gustav Boraks, who testified as a witness for the prosecution in the Demjanjuk criminal trial in Israel. Plaintiffs’ 2d Opp. at 19. Plaintiffs concede that they do not focus on Doc. 151 because of any intrinsic significance it might hold for the Demjanjuk defense in Israel. Plaintiffs’ Response to the Request of the Court for Unredacted Documents at 4. Rather, plaintiffs argue that defendant’s treatment of Doc. 151, which served as one of defendant’s sample documents in phase two of this FOIA suit, “evidences a sloppiness in review of the documents and in preparation of its affidavits that thoroughly undermines its case.” Plaintiffs’ 2d Opp. at 19. Plaintiffs continue: “On this ground alone, we believe the Court would be warranted in ignoring the affidavits submitted by the defendant and ordering production of all the documents defendant is withholding.” Id. at 19-20. Plaintiffs argument is unpersuasive. First, while defendant’s inversion of the document’s sender and recipient in its description of Doc. 151 was an error, it is certainly not an error of such proportions as to call into question the integrity of the DOJ’s entire submission in this case. Indeed, in examining and indexing the hundreds of documents at issue in this voluminous FOIA suit, defendant has exhibited considerable care and attention to detail. Second, the accuracy of defendant’s description of the substantive contents of Doc. 151 is not in dispute. Defendant’s representation that Boraks “did not ultimately testify in any of the Demjanjuk proceedings held in the United States” has not been controverted by plaintiffs. As to the fact that Boraks ultimately testified in the Demjanjuk criminal trial in Israel, defendant responds that it did not know who would be selected as trial witnesses by the State of Israel until a formal list of witnesses was presented to Demjanjuk and his attorneys. Einhorn Aff. 1129. Defendant invokes Exemption 7(C) to withhold the name of Gustav Boraks from Doc. 151, as well as the names of several non-attorney OSI personnel, an Israeli law enforcement officer, and a non-witness third party. Vaughn index No. 2. At the August 28, 1987 hearing, defendant noted that the document obtained by plaintiffs is “somewhat different in text and is completely different in typeset” from the document labelled 151 that is attached to Vaughn index No. 2. Transcript at 40. Defendant also stated that Doc. 151 was never disclosed by OSI or DOJ: To our knowledge, the document that we have in our files, a similar document to which plaintiffs have obtained, has never been released by the Office of Special Investigations voluntarily or by the Justice Department to any third parties outside the U.S. Government. Id. at 39. Defendant stresses that plaintiffs offer no authority for the proposition that a person’s privacy interests under Exemption 7(C) are waived for all purposes once his identity has been learned by some other means. Reply Memorandum in Support of Defendant’s Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (“Defendant’s 2d Reply”) at 16-17. Indeed, Weisberg is authority to the contrary. See Weisberg, 745 F.2d at 1491. In Weisberg, the Court of Appeals ruled that the fact that plaintiffs were able to piece together the identities of FBI informants by relying on media reports and even disclosures by the FBI itself did not undermine the privacy interests of those individuals under Exemption 7(C). Id. If any public leak or disclosure were sufficient to obliterate the protection offered by Exemption 7(C), unauthorized disclosures would be encouraged and rewarded. In this case, the fact that plaintiffs have obtained a document virtually identical to defendant’s Doc. 151 does not undermine the privacy interests defendant seeks to protect. Nor does the fact that Boraks testified in the Demjanjuk criminal trial in Israel foreclose withholding of his name under FOIA Exemption 7(C). See Scherer v. Kelley, 584 F.2d 170, 176 n. 7 (7th Cir.1978), cert. denied sub nom. Scherer v. Webster, 440 U.S. 964, 99 S.Ct. 1511, 59 L.Ed.2d 778 (1979). Accordingly, for the reasons stated in Section 111(2) of this Memorandum, the names deleted by defendant in Doc. 151 are exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C). 4. Defendant has withheld the name of a foreign entity which provided information and was assured of strict confidentiality (Docs. 187, 246, and 253) and the names of other foreign agencies or authorities that provided information under an express or implied assurance of confidentiality (Docs. 221, 246, 247, 254, 283, 287, 288, and 500), invoking FOIA Exemption 7(D) (records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, production of which “could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis”). DSMF2 ¶ 12; Vaughn index No. 2; Vaughn index No. 3. The Second Ross Declaration asserts that, in view of the violent history into which the OSI delves, the intense feelings which surround the subject matter of its investigations, and the practical necessity of a free flow of information to it, it has a practice of maintaining the confidentiality of all its foreign sources. 2d Ross Dec. 119. Plaintiffs cannot seriously challenge this policy judgment, nor should the Court in the circumstances here. The defendant has met its burden of showing that these sources provided information either under an express assurance of confidentiality or under circumstances in which an assurance of confidentiality can reasonably be inferred. Accordingly, the identity of the foreign sources in these documents are exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(D). See Lesar, 636 F.2d at 490 (if source “provided information under an express assurance of confidentiality or in circumstances from which such an assurance could be reasonably inferred ... the agency can withhold the names, addresses, and other information that would reveal the identity of a confidential source....”); Brandt Construction Co. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 778 F.2d 1258, 1263-64 (7th Cir.1985). 5. In addition to withholding the identity of the foreign entity named in documents 187, 246 and 253 under Exemption 7(D), defendant has withheld certain additional information in those three documents under Exemption 7(A) (law enforcement records or information the disclosure of which “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings”). Defendant has withheld this information because it is continuing to receive information from the foreign source for use in ongoing law enforcement proceedings unrelated to the Demjanjuk case, because it anticipates that the source will be useful in future law enforcement proceedings, and because it is of the view that disclosure of the identity of the source would end its usefulness in OSI’s continuing law enforcement activities. DSMF2 ¶ 13; 2d Ross Dec. ¶ 10. This explanation justifies withholding the additional information. See National Public Radio v. Bell, 431 F.Supp. 509, 514 (D.D.C.1977) (Exemption 7(A) applies to investigation that “will hopefully lead to a ‘prospective law enforcement proceeding.’ ”). Defendant has also invoked Exemption 7(A) to withhold portions of Docs. 198, 212, and 223. Sher Aff. ¶ 15(e), 17(c), and 19(c). Defendant states that these deletions pertain to the identity or recollections of a person “present at one or more places of Nazi-directed persecution during World War II which are now the subject of investigation by OSI.” Id. at 1115(e). Defendant has withheld this information to avoid revealing the existence and direction of current OSI investigations and to avoid providing “potential OSI subjects with a reason and basis for interfering in those investigations (e.g., intimidating witnesses; suppressing and fabricating evidence).” Id. This explanation justifies that withholding. See Bevis v. Department of State, 801 F.2d 1386, 1390 (D.C.Cir.1986) (categories of information such as “the identities of possible witnesses and informants” and “reports on the location and viability of potential evidence” enable courts to assess how release of documents containing such information would interfere with law enforcement proceedings). 6. All but one of the other items withheld plainly are subject to the claim of work product exemption under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). DSMF2 ¶¶[ 14-45, 46-57; Vaughn index No. 2; Vaughn index No. 3. They are not materially different from the work product exemptions recognized in the Memorandum of May 15, 1987. A few days after that decision was announced, our Court of Appeals filed its opinion in Martin v. Office of Special Counsel, MSPB, 819 F.2d 1181 (D.C.Cir.1987), reiterating that FOIA Exemption 5 embraces the traditional work product concept established for civil court proceedings by Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 67 S.Ct. 385, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947), and that, just as in civil discovery, factual portions of a document exempt as work product are not to be disclosed. Martin, 819 F.2d at 1186-1187. That decision confirms the law of this case established by the May 15 Memorandum. Accordingly, an accompanying Order will grant defendant’s second motion for partial summary judgment, except that it must disclose the budget appropriation numbers in documents 185 and 266. IV. The third phase of this FOIA suit concerns two sets of documents. One set consists of those “Remaining Undifferentiated Documents” which contain any matter defined in Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in regard to issues raised in United States v. Demjanjuk, 518 F.Supp. 1362 (N.D.Ohio 1981), aff'd, 680 F.2d 32 (6th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1036, 103 S.Ct. 447, 74 L.Ed.2d 602 (1982). Defendant’s Third Statement of Material Facts ("DSMF8") ¶ 8. These “Remaining Undifferentiated Documents,” which are approximately 168 in number, were dated or collected by defendant between 1977 and 1986 and were prepared in anticipation of and/or arose out of the Demjanjuk denaturalization, deportation, or extradition proceedings. Id. ¶ 9. These documents include correspondence, requests for research and investigative assistance, and inter-agency memoranda prepared by DOJ attorneys working on the Demjanjuk case. They also include responses by foreign or domestic agencies to requests for information made by OSI or other DOJ attorneys. Id. Plaintiffs do not directly challenge the defendant’s characterization of these documents. Plaintiffs’ Statement of Genuine Issues (“PSGI3”) ¶ 4. The 168 “Remaining Undifferentiated Documents” bear numbers ranging from 321 to 799; a specific list is attached as Exhibit A to the Fourth Affidavit of Neal M. Sher, Director of OSI (“4th Sher Aff.”). The second set of documents at issue in this third phase consists of 453 pages of “Foreign Language Documents.” These documents (numbered 292g, 711-717, 727, 728, 732, and 733) are dated or were collected by defendant between 1977 and 1986. They include foreign legal decisions regarding crimes allegedly committed during World War II, foreign witness statements relating to Nazi concentration camps originally obtained by foreign officials, and Nazi war records or summaries originally maintained by foreign governments. DSMF3 1110; 4th Sher Aff. 119(b). As plaintiffs point out, the foreign materials at issue were originally created long before the United States undertook proceedings against Mr. Demjanjuk. PSGI3 ¶[ 5. However, as defendant explains, the documents were “obtained and assessed by or at the direction of OSI or other Justice Department attorneys assigned to the Demjanjuk denaturalization, deportation, and/or extradition proceedings.” 4th Sher Aff. 119(b). This third phase also includes Doc. 360, an intergovernmental memorandum dated March 14, 1979 from an INS investigator to a DOJ attorney concerning the investigator’s interview of a potential witness in the Demjanjuk denatur