The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit
This Reading Room is a comprehensive public database of opinions written by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). It contains the approximately 1,400 opinions published by the OLC in its online database and the opinions produced in Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the Knight Institute, including opinions about the Pentagon Papers, the Civil Rights Era, and the War Powers Act. It also contains indexes of all unclassified OLC opinions written between 1945 and February 15, 1994. Those indexes are also available as a comprehensive list here and in .csv format here.
The Knight Institute will continue updating the reading room with new records. To get alerts when the OLC publishes a new opinion in its database, follow @OLCforthepeople on Twitter.
Showing 101–110 of 2201
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OLC FOIA Interim Response Letter
7/27/2020
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OLC FOIA Interim Response Letter
7/27/2020
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Index of 1954 unclassified OLC legal opinions
The OLC disclosed this index—of unclassifed OLC legal opinions from 1954—to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University during the litigation in Francis v. DOJ. The OLC labeled the index "preliminary."
7/8/2020
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Index of 1977 unclassified OLC legal opinions
The OLC disclosed this index—of unclassifed OLC legal opinions from 1977—to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University during the litigation in Francis v. DOJ. The OLC labeled the index "preliminary."
6/5/2020
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Index of 1965 unclassified OLC legal opinions
The OLC disclosed this index—of unclassifed OLC legal opinions from 1965—to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University during the litigation in Francis v. DOJ. The OLC labeled the index "preliminary."
5/7/2020
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OLC FOIA Initial Response Letter
4/27/2020
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OLC FOIA Initial Response Letter
4/27/2020
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Index of 1969 unclassified OLC legal opinions
The OLC disclosed this index—of unclassifed OLC legal opinions from 1969—to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University during the litigation in Francis v. DOJ. The OLC labeled the index "preliminary."
4/7/2020
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January 2020 Airstrike in Iraq Against Qassem Soleimani
This memorandum discusses a January 2020 airstrike in Iraq against Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force of Iran. The document is heavily redacted, and discusses primarily the history of the United States' involvement in Iraq, Iran's opposition to the U.S. presence in the Middle East, attacks on the U.S. and its partners by Qods Force and others, and the history of military action, including airstrike authorization, by presidents. The OLC considered, while advising on the permissiiblity of airstrike against Qassem Soleimani, the likelihood that the airstrike could escalate into larger-scale conflict, and defended its initial assessment that resulting hostilities would be unlikely to escalate "to the level of a war for constitutional purposes." OLC also advised that the president could rely on the 2002 AUMF to justify the use of force.
4/20/2023
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Index of 1981 unclassified OLC legal opinions
The OLC disclosed this index—of unclassifed OLC legal opinions from 1981—to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University during the litigation in Francis v. DOJ. The OLC labeled the index "preliminary."
3/3/2020