In Final Days, Bush Administration Continues To Stonewall
WASHINGTON (Friday, Dec. 12, 2008) – Even in the final days of the Bush
administration, the Department of Justice continues to stonewall
congressional subpoenas for documents from the Office of Legal Counsel
(OLC), according to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Friday underscored the Department’s
continued obstruction and hit the Department on going back on its word
to provide the Committee with copies of six documents related to a
subpoena issued in October for OLC documents.
In a letter dated
November 14, Justice Department officials said the Department was
“prepared to make available for Committee staff review at the
Department” two national security-related OLC opinions subpoenaed on
October 21. The Department also wrote that it was “prepared to
provide the Committee with copies of additional OLC memoranda on
November 17, 2008.” Upon receipt of the letter, followed by a
verbal assurance on November 17 that the documents were being delivered
to the Committee,
Leahy postponed the return date of the subpoena, which was scheduled
for
November 18. To date, the Department has provided the
Committee with copies of just two documents, one of which was not listed
in the October 21 subpoena and was already widely available in the
public domain. The remaining six documents have been made
available at the Department only for staff review.
“Bush administration officials at the Department of Justice have
provided nothing to explain their sudden change of position concerning
the documents previously promised the Committee,” said Leahy. “Now
we hear through the press that they are stonewalling access of the
President-elect’s transition team to OLC documents as well.
Regrettably, the Bush administration’s initial pledges of cooperation
with the transition team seem to be falling short, and that mirrors
their lack of cooperation with the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Leahy continued, “The Bush administration talks about working together,
but they care more about continuing their secretive practices.
Just as there is no justification for denying the incoming
administration legal opinions that were the basis for Executive Branch
policy, there is no justification for denying them to the Senate
Judiciary Committee. The next administration and the next Congress
will be left to clean up the mess at the Department. Rather than
continue to delay, the Bush administration should be working to help the
Congress and President-elect Obama and his team to hit the ground
running on January 20. The right people are ready to begin working
to restore the integrity of the Justice Department and they cannot do
that without access to this information. President-elect Obama has
identified his pick to lead the Justice Department, Attorney General
designee Eric Holder. We will be working hard to have the Justice
Department leadership team in place as soon as possible so we can begin
to peel back the layers of secrecy that has defined this
administration.”
The two documents provided to the Committee, a memorandum dated November
6, 2001, entitled “Re:
Legality of the Use of Military Commissions to Try Terrorists”
(subpoena item 1.H), and a memorandum dated February 7, 2002, entitled “Status
of Taliban Forces Under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949”,
are available online. The remaining six documents have been identified as
read-only, and copies have not been provided to the Committee for
discussion and disclosure.
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