The OLC
Astrid Da Silva

The OLC's Opinions

Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit

This Reading Room is a comprehensive database of published 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 unclassified OLC opinions written between 1945 and February 15, 1994 (these indexes were created by the OLC and intended to be comprehensive). We have compiled those indexes into a single list here and in .csv format here. This Reading Room also contains an index of all classified OLC opinions issued between 1974 and 2021, except those classified or codeword-classified at a level higher than Top Secret (the OLC created this index, too, and intended it to be comprehensive).

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.

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  • Applicability of Emoluments Clause to "Representative" Members of Advisory Committees

    The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution does not apply to "representative" members of advisory committees, that is, members who are chosen to present the views of private organizations and interests. 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/file/19761/download.

    9/2/1997

  • Disclosure of Grand Jury Material to the Intelligence Community

    Grand jury material subject to the requirements of Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure may be disclosed to agencies in the Intelligence Community pursuant to Rule 6(e) insofar as necessary to assist government attorneys in performing their duties to enforce federal criminal law, but may not, under Rule 6(e), be used by the recipient agencies for other purposes, including intelligence purposes. In circumstances where there is a compelling necessity for grand jury material to be made available to the President in furtherance of his constitutional responsibilities over foreign affairs and national defense, and where the President has authorized the provision of such material to the Intelligence Community, we believe that a court should and would authorize such disclosure outside the provisions of Rule 6(e), on the basis of Article II of the Constitution and separation of powers principles. Indeed, in such compelling circumstances, a constitutionally necessitated disclosure could properly be made by attorneys for the Government even without prior court approval. 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/file/19766/download.

    8/14/1997

  • Use of General Agency Appropriations to Purchase Employee Business Cards

    Nothing in the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997 expressly provides for, or prohibits, the expenditure of appropriations of the General Services Administration for the purchase of employee business cards. In the absence of a contrary provision or limitation in its appropriations act or other applicable legislation, GSA may lawfully obligate a general or lump-sum appropriation for the purchase of business cards for suitable mission-related use by GSA employees. Depending upon the particular purpose for which they are to be used, GSA's purchases of business cards for its employees may be chargeable either to its limited appropriation for "reception and recreation expenses" or to its general appropriation. 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/file/19771/download.

    8/11/1997

  • Applicability of Section 514 of the 1997 Education Appropriations Act to Post-Secondary Student Aid Programs

    Section 514 of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1997, which bars the provision of appropriated funds, by contract or grant, to any institution of higher education that denies campus access to military recruiters or Reserve Officer Training Corps representatives, applies to so-called "campus-based" student aid programs, which involve grants to educational entities, but does not apply to direct aid programs, which involve grants to students rather than to educational entities. 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/file/19776/download.

    8/6/1997

  • Applicability of 3 U.S.C. § 112 to Detailees Supporting the President's Initiative on Race

    3 U.S C. § 112 does not apply to the details of employees to support the President's Initiative on Race. 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/file/19781/download.

    8/1/1997

  • Authority of Military Exchanges to Lease General Purpose Office Space

    The Navy Exchange Service Command, a nonappropriated fund instrumentality, and similar military exchange units constitute integral components of the Department of Defense, and their leasing authority, like that of other DoD components, is subject to the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 18 of 1950, notwithstanding their status as NAFIs. Accordingly, they are not authorized to lease general purpose urban office space unless such authority is delegated to them by the General Services Administration. 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/file/19791/download.

    8/1/1997

  • Removal of Holdover Officials Serving on the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Railroad Retirement Board

    The President may remove, without cause, members of the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Railroad Retirement Board who are serving in holdover capacities and do not enjoy express tenure protection by statute. 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/file/19786/download.

    8/1/1997

  • Administrative Assessment of Civil Penalties Against Federal Agencies Under the Clean Air Act

    The Clean Air Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency administratively to assess civil penalties against federal agencies for violations of the Act or its implementing regulations. Separation of powers concerns do not bar EPA's exercise of this authority, because it can be exercised consistent with the Constitution. 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/file/19796/download.

    7/16/1997

  • Funding of State Department Settlements of Foreign Tort Claims

    Because 22 U S.C. § 2669(f) expressly authorizes the Secretary of State to pay settlements of foreign tort claims from funds appropriated for the activities included in the State Department Basic Authorities Act or from funds "otherwise available," the payment of such settlements is "otherwise provided for" within the meaning of 31 U.S.C. § 1304(a), and therefore the Judgment Fund is not available for the payment of such settlements. 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/file/19801/download.

    6/18/1997

  • Applicability of 18 U.S.C. § 208 to the Federal Communications Commission's Representative on the Board of Directors of the Telecommunications Development Fund

    Because the Telecommunications Development Fund is a non-profit entity that is owned, funded, and controlled by the federal government, it is not an "organization" within the meaning of 18 U S.C. § 208. Therefore, the restrictions in § 208 do not apply to the service of the Federal Communications Commission's General Counsel on the Board of Directors of the Fund. 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/file/19806/download.

    6/12/1997

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