Glomar response

Etymology
So named because it was used in response to a request for records about the Glomar Explorer submarine-retrieval ship.

Noun

 * 1) A response by a US government agency (etc) that it can "neither confirm nor deny" the existence of (secret) information which has been asked for.
 * 2) * 1997, Ralph C. Nash, Leonard Rawicz, Intellectual Property in Government Contracts, George Washington University, Government Contracts Program
 * This is a Glomar response, and exemption 6 must be cited in the response.
 * 1) * 2006, P. Stephen Gidiere (III), The Federal Information Manual: How the Government Collects, Manages, and Discloses Information Under FOIA and Other Statutes, American Bar Association (ISBN 9781590315798), page 215:
 * For example, with a &quot;Glomar response,&quot; the agency neither confirms nor denies the existence of the requested records. Such a response is appropriate where revealing even the existence of the information would be tantamount to disclosing it.
 * This is a Glomar response, and exemption 6 must be cited in the response.
 * 1) * 2006, P. Stephen Gidiere (III), The Federal Information Manual: How the Government Collects, Manages, and Discloses Information Under FOIA and Other Statutes, American Bar Association (ISBN 9781590315798), page 215:
 * For example, with a &quot;Glomar response,&quot; the agency neither confirms nor denies the existence of the requested records. Such a response is appropriate where revealing even the existence of the information would be tantamount to disclosing it.

Related terms

 * Glomar denial, Glomarization