Showing 951–960 of 2202

• 2/1/1985

  Constitutionality of Line-Item Veto Proposal

  A bill that purports to give the President a line-item veto by providing that each item of appropriation in an appropriation bill be enrolled, although not voted on, as a separate bill raises serious constitutional questions under Article I, § 7, cl. 2 of the Constitution. 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/23711/download.

  2/1/1985

• 1/25/1985

  Issuance of a Preferred Stock Dividend by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation

  The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation is authorized, under 12 U S.C. § 1455(f), to issue a dividend of preferred stock to its shareholders, the Federal Home Loan Banks. The Federal Home Loan Banks are further authorized to distribute that stock as a dividend to their shareholders. 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/23706/download.

  1/25/1985

• 1/11/1985

  Disqualification of Prosecutor Because of Former Representation

  In matters that are substantially related to an Assistant United States Attorney's representation of clients prior to joining the government, the attorney should not participate in any investigation or prosecution that foreseeably involves individuals or entities who, although they arguably had not been the attorney's "clients," were contacted by the attorney in the course of his prior representation and indirectly paid the attorney's legal fees, unless the attorney's participation is essential to the conduct of the Department's law enforcement operation. Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, a state court or bar association may regulate the conduct of federal attorneys acting in the scope of their federal authority only to the extent that such regulation is not inconsistent with the exigencies of federal employment. 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/23701/download.

  1/11/1985

• 11/20/1984

  VISA Fraud Investigation

  Although facially a violation of applicable statutes, the State Department may issue a visa to an ineligible alien in order to facilitate an undercover operation conducted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Undercover operations often involve facially illegal conduct by government officers, but courts have not held such conduct to be illegal if it is necessary to secure a permissible law enforcement objective. 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/23696/download.

  11/20/1984

• 10/30/1984

  Overview of the War Powers Resolution

  Summary of previous Office of Legal Counsel advice concerning the War Powers Resolution for the purpose of providing guidance in future analyses of War Powers Resolution problems. 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/23691/download.

  10/30/1984

• 10/30/1984

  Refusals by Executive Branch to Provide Documents From Open Criminal Investigative Files to Congress

  Written in response to a dispute between the Department of Justice and Senator Grassley over documents of the ongoing criminal investigation of the General Dynamics, this memo excerpts from two previous OLC opinions a list of historical precedents involving the president invoking executive privilege. The memo suggests that these precedents prove that the president and his subordinates have historically viewed the disclosure of open investigative files as detrimental to the separation of powers. 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/sites/default/files/olc/pages/attachments/2014/12/30/1984-10-30_-_daag_shanks_-_open_crim_investig_files_ocr.pdf.

  10/30/1984

• 10/17/1984

  Congressional Subpoenas of Department of Justice Investigative Files

  Congressional subpoenas seeking information from the Department of Justice concerning two closed investigations and one open investigation may be complied with only if the materials sought may be revealed consistent with Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which requires the Department to maintain the secrecy of matters occurring before the grand jury, and with the President's constitutional obligation to executive faithfully the laws of the United States. If it is determined after review of the requested documents that compliance with the subpoena would jeopardize the ongoing criminal investigation, we would advise the President to assert executive privilege to ensure the continued confidentiality of the documents contained in the open investigative file. Because of the importance of the process of determining whether documents may be released to Congress consistent with Rule 6(e) and the President's constitutional obligations, Congress must allow Executive Branch officials sufficient time to review the requested documents. 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/23686/download.

  10/17/1984

• 10/17/1984

  Implementation of the Bid Protest Provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act

  Certain provisions concerning bid protest procedures in the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) purport to authorize the Comptroller General (1) to require a procuring agency to stay a procurement until such stay is lifted by the Comptroller General; and (2) to require an agency to pay certain costs of a bid protest, including attorneys' fees and bid preparation costs. Because the Comptroller General is an agent of the Legislative Branch, the provisions authorizing the Comptroller General to act in an executive capacity to bind individuals and institutions outside the Legislative Branch violate fundamental separation of powers principles. Although the only unconstitutional aspect of the bid protest stay provision concerns the Comptroller General's authority to lift the stay, this authority is inextricably bound with the stay provision as a whole. The stay provision is not, however, inextricably bound to the remainder of the CICA, and thus may be severed. Likewise, the provision authorizing the Comptroller General to require an agency to pay certain costs of a bid protest is severable from the remainder of the CICA. Executive Branch agencies are advised to proceed with procurement processes as though no stay provision exists in the CICA, although agencies may voluntarily agree to stay procurements pending the resolution of bid protests if such action is not based on the authority of the invalid CICA stay provisions. Agencies should not comply with the Comptroller General's awards of costs under the invalid CICA damages provision. 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/23681/download.

  10/17/1984

• 9/27/1984

  Voluntariness of Renunciations of Citizenship Under 8 U.S.C. § 1481(a)(6)

  A renunciation of citizenship would likely not be held involuntary by a court solely because it was undertaken as part of an agreement whereby federal prosecutors agreed not to proceed with denaturalization and deportation proceedings if the subjects of the investigation agreed to renounce their U.S. citizenship. In the analogous context of plea bargaining in criminal cases, courts have consistently held that the threat of greater punishment by prosecutors does not by itself deprive the defendant of the ability to voluntarily choose to plea bargain, absent other indicia of improper coercion. In the absence of facts indicating further government coercion, a court would likely look to principles applicable to the determination of voluntariness in criminal plea bargains and conclude that renunciation of citizenship pursuant to the agreements at issue did not violate the constitutional requirement of voluntariness per se. 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/23676/download.

  9/27/1984

• 9/25/1984

  FBI Request for Authorization to Conduct Certain Investigations at the Behest of Foreign Countries

  In this memo, the OLC reiterated its conclusion that the attorney general could not order the FBI to assist other foreign intelligence services by conducting background checks unless the Secretary of State issued a formal request under 28 U.S.C. § 533(3).

  9/2/2022