Reading Room Document

Whether the Department of Justice May Prosecute White House Officials for Contempt of Congress

The Department of Justice may not bring before a grand jury criminal contempt of Congress citations, or take any other prosecutorial action, with respect to current or former White House officials who declined to provide documents or testimony, or who declined to appear to testify, in response to subpoenas from a congressional committee, based on the President's assertion of executive privilege or the immunity of senior presidential advisers from compelled congressional testimony. 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 www.justice.gov/opinion/file/832851/download.

February 29, 2008