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.
Showing 1671–1680 of 2202
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Use of White House Office Funds to Handle Mail for Members of the President's Family
The White House Office—Expenditure of Appropriated Funds—Handling Mail for Members of the President's Family 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/21316/download.
3/22/1977
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Appointment of Deputy Director of the Council on International Economic Policy by Its Executive Director
Appointment of Deputy Director of the Council on International Economic Policy (CIEP) by Its Executive Director 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/20981/download.
3/21/1977
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The Appointment of the President’s Son to a Position on the White House Staff
This opinion concludes that President Carter cannot appoint his son to an unpaid White House staff position, affirming a past OLC opinion dealing with the similar proposed appointment of Mrs. Carter. 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/1009456/download.
3/15/1977
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Legality of Proposed Executive Order Requiring Public Disclosure of Employee Financial Statements
Presidential Authority—Legality of Proposed Executive Order Requiring Public Disclosure of Employee Financial Statements—Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 522)—Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a) 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/21311/download.
3/7/1977
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Drug Enforcement Administration's Authority to Impose Civil Penalties
Drug Enforcement Administration's Authority to Impose Civil Penalties 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/20971/download.
3/4/1977
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Provision of Transportation and Other Services to Former Presidents and Vice Presidents
Provision of Transportation and Other Services to Former Presidents and Vice Presidents 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/20976/download.
3/4/1977
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Payment of Travel Expenses Incurred by Person Conducting Official Business on Behalf of the President When the Person Is Not an Officer or Employee of the United States
Travel Expenses—Person Traveling on Behalf of the President—Use of Appropriated Funds 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/21306/download.
2/24/1977
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Status of an Informal Presidential Advisor as a "Special Government Employee"
Conflict of Interest—Status of an Informal Presidential Advisor as a "Special Government Employee" 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/20966/download.
2/24/1977
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Constitutionality of Inspector General Legislation
Inspector General Legislation 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/20961/download.
2/21/1977
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Possible Appointment of Mrs. Carter as Chairman of the Commission on Mental Health
This opinion concludes that President Carter cannot appoint his wife to chairmanship of the Commission on Mental Health due to the federal anti-nepotism statute, regardless of whether she would receive compensation. 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/1009451/download.
2/18/1977