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Grasswire2

(13,571 posts)
Sun Jun 5, 2022, 03:45 PM Jun 2022

Can someone find where, in the law, authority explains OLC's secret memos?

Here is the OLC page describing the use of memos, which are written to inform the AG.
It mentions that some are withheld from publication. It does not specify WHO makes that determination, or what criteria are used to decide which is secret, or who might decide later that the opinion can be released.

Today, a secret 1994 memo written by Theodore Olsen is used to explain DoJ refusal to charge two coup plotters/actors.

This sounds like a government run by a secret cabal inside the Justice Department -- a cabal that can issue de facto law by fiat, like a papal decree.

[link:https://www.justice.gov/olc/opinions-main|

The Attorney General has directed the Office of Legal Counsel to publish selected opinions for the convenience of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of the government, and of the professional bar and the general public. The authority of the Office of Legal Counsel to render legal opinions derives from the authority of the Attorney General. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Attorney General was authorized to render opinions on questions of law when requested by the President and the heads of Executive Branch departments. This authority is now codified at 28 U.S.C. §§ 511–513. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 510, the Attorney General has delegated to the Office of Legal Counsel responsibility for preparing the formal opinions of the Attorney General, rendering opinions and legal advice to the various Executive Branch agencies, assisting the Attorney General in the performance of his function as legal adviser to the President, and rendering opinions to the Attorney General and the heads of the various organizational units of the Department of Justice. 28 C.F.R. § 0.25.

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11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Can someone find where, in the law, authority explains OLC's secret memos? (Original Post) Grasswire2 Jun 2022 OP
I could but it's a secret also..... getagrip_already Jun 2022 #1
They're just unpublished. Maybe they are still available under FOIA? Frasier Balzov Jun 2022 #2
Keep your radar out for media reports that clarify this. One or more should explain this decision. ancianita Jun 2022 #3
de facto law, yes, when operating in secrecy that's the way it is bucolic_frolic Jun 2022 #4
Did that happen? Ohio Joe Jun 2022 #5
The website on the link is the justice dept. AZSkiffyGeek Jun 2022 #6
Yeah... That is not exactly my question... Ohio Joe Jun 2022 #7
I'm sorry. 1984 memo, not 1994 -- I'll correct above. Grasswire2 Jun 2022 #8
My question is not about the memo... Ohio Joe Jun 2022 #9
oh gee. Grasswire2 Jun 2022 #10
I heard about refusal of charges... Ohio Joe Jun 2022 #11

bucolic_frolic

(43,182 posts)
4. de facto law, yes, when operating in secrecy that's the way it is
Sun Jun 5, 2022, 03:58 PM
Jun 2022

Retired intelligence operatives go into think tanks and hedge funds .... they had an agenda all along, so it's not just DOJ.

As for the OP, I thought Rachel Maddow had a segment on that a little over a year ago on the origins of not indicting sitting presidents ... was the early 70s, Nixon's Golden Age.

Ohio Joe

(21,758 posts)
5. Did that happen?
Sun Jun 5, 2022, 04:21 PM
Jun 2022

"Today, a secret 1994 memo written by Theodore Olsen is used to explain DoJ refusal to charge two coup plotters/actors."

I can't find that reported anywhere

Ohio Joe

(21,758 posts)
7. Yeah... That is not exactly my question...
Sun Jun 5, 2022, 04:43 PM
Jun 2022

"Today, a secret 1994 memo written by Theodore Olsen is used to explain DoJ refusal to charge two coup plotters/actors."

When was it used to refuse charging two coup plotters? That is what I can't find.

Ohio Joe

(21,758 posts)
9. My question is not about the memo...
Sun Jun 5, 2022, 04:50 PM
Jun 2022

When was it used to refuse to charge two coup plotters? I can't find that reported anywhere

Ohio Joe

(21,758 posts)
11. I heard about refusal of charges...
Sun Jun 5, 2022, 04:57 PM
Jun 2022

I've not seen anyone but this post claim it was based on this memo.

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