KJP says NBD
FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK — An unusual coalition of conservative and progressive groups is urging the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to make public most of its confidential opinions, which advise the executive branch on what’s legal and what isn’t.
Refusing to disclose such opinions “creates secret laws relied upon by agencies but invisible to the public,” the groups wrote in a letter today addressed to CHRISTOPHER SCHROEDER, Biden’s nominee to lead the office. “When uncovered, these secret laws undermine public confidence in the agencies, who in turn point at OLC.” The groups also point out that Schroeder signed a document in 2004 arguing that the opinions should be made public.
The letter’s signatories include: progressive outfits American Oversight and Demand Progress, the conservative Americans for Prosperity and R Street Institute and New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, among others.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
