Reading Room Document
Authority of the FBI to Conduct Background Investigations for Congress
The FBI has statutory authority to conduct background investigations of congressional employees who will have access to classified information or who the Attorney General identifies as having a connection to a matter within the control of the Justice or State Departments for which such an investigation is required. 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/24216/download.
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit