Reading Room Document

Suing to Enjoin the Enforcement of a Senate Committee's Subpoena

This opinion addressed whether the Justice Department could have sued to prevent the Senate Judiciary Committee from seeking files on criminal investigations, which included grand jury materials, internal memoranda, and information gathered during investigations. The OLC opinion explained that the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution “almost certainly bars” a suit seeking to prohibit the issuance of a Congressional subpoena, although it would not bar a suit against Congressional employees who attempted to enforce the subpoena. The OLC also warned that a preemptive suit might not have been successful because “courts are reluctant to intervene in disputes between the executive and Congress until they are convinced that the other two branches are at loggerheads.”

January 16, 1981