Reading Room Document
Status of NSC as an "Agency" under FOIA
This opinion concludes that the the National Security Council ("NSC") is not an agency for FOIA purposes, since it fails the "substantial independent authority to perform specific functions" test, applied by the courts in recent cases. The opinion overrules a 1978 OLC opinion on the same subject. 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/936176/download.
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit