For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 13, 2001
Memo for Attorney General on Executive Branch Documents
December 12, 2001
MEMORANDUM FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
SUBJECT: Congressional
Subpoena for Executive Branch Documents
I have been advised that the Committee on Government Reform of the
House of Representatives has subpoenaed confidential Department of
Justice documents. The documents consist of memoranda from
the Chief of the Campaign Financing Task Force to former Attorney
General Janet Reno recommending that a Special Counsel be appointed to
investigate a matter under review by the Task Force, memoranda written
in response to those memoranda, and deliberative memoranda from other
investigations containing advice and recommendations concerning whether
particular criminal prosecutions should be brought. I
understand that, among other accommodations the Department has provided
the Committee concern-ing the matters that are the subject of these
documents, the Department has provided briefings with explanations of
the reasons for the prosecutorial decisions, and is willing to provide
further briefings. I also understand that you believe it
would be inconsistent with the constitutional doctrine of separation of
powers and the Department's law enforcement responsibilities to release
these documents to the Committee or to make them available for review
by Committee representatives.
It is my decision that you should not release these documents or
otherwise make them available to the Committee. Disclosure
to Congress of confidential advice to the Attorney General regarding
the appointment of a Special Counsel and confidential recommendations
to Department of Justice officials regarding whether to bring criminal
charges would inhibit the candor necessary to the effectiveness of the
deliberative processes by which the Department makes prosecutorial
decisions. Moreover, I am concerned that congressional
access to prosecutorial decisionmaking documents of this kind threatens
to politicize the criminal justice process. The Founders?
fundamental purpose in establishing the separation of powers in the
Constitution was to protect individual liberty. Congressional pressure
on execu-tive branch prosecutorial decisionmaking is inconsistent with
separation of powers and threatens individual liberty. Because I
believe that congressional access to these documents would be contrary
to the national interest, I have decided to assert executive privilege
with respect to the documents and to instruct you not to release them
or otherwise make them available to the Committee.
I request that you advise the Committee of my
decision. I also request that the Department remain willing
to work informally with the Committee to provide such information as it
can, con-sistent with these instructions and without violating the
constitutional doctrine of separation of powers.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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