Opinions of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel
The Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice issues memoranda that assess whether activities of agencies of the federal government comply with the law and the U.S. Constitution. Its opinions can effectively authorize or prohibit conduct that is at the legal boundary. A number of its interpretations of the Bush Administration’s warrantless surveillance program, and of the applicability of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, have been kept secret from the public and even from Congress. While some facts surrounding such surveillance are necessarily classified, the government’s interpretation of the law should most definitely be public. The OLC’s opinions on intelligence surveillance should be made public with appropriate redactions to protect classified information.
4 Comments
02/12 11:14 a.m.
02/12 11:14 a.m.
JJ 02/12 2:33 p.m.
DOJ is Executive, although court interpretation is Judicial
02/18 4:45 p.m.
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