Reading Room Document

Power of Congressional Committee to Compel Appearance or Testimony of “White House Staff”

This opinion reviews whether, if any, members of the White House staff can be exempt from appearing or testifying before a congressional committee. The opinion concludes by dividing the Executive Office of the President roughly in three groups: 1) the president and his closest advisors, who are absolutely immune from inquiry; 2) other members of the White House staff, who are afforded only some form of testimonial privilege, such as refusing to testify with respect to any official business; 3) Cabinet members, who are obliged to respond to congressional inquiry, but cannot be interrogated on what takes place at a Cabinet meeting. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/page/file/1225961/download.

February 5, 1971