5 Aug, 2022
Beyond January 6th: White House Confidentiality and Congressional Investigations [August 5, 2022]
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Garvey, Todd
From the Document: "One significant aspect of the recent hearings held by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol [hyperlink] (Committee) has been the frequency and prevalence of testimony by White House staffers and executive branch officials about private conversations and interactions they had with each other and sometimes directly with then-President Donald Trump. Presidential advisers have testified to congressional committees before [hyperlink]--both voluntarily and under compulsion--but rarely has Congress been given such a clear window into the inner workings of the White House during a time of crisis. Recent history provides a number of high-profile examples [hyperlink] of Congress struggling [hyperlink] to obtain information from the White House and other executive branch officials regarding presidential decisions and actions. The Committee's recent successes are likely due to a combination of political, legal, and practical factors. One salient factor contributing to the Committee's robust and timely access to relevant evidence appears to have been a series of decisions by the Biden Administration, all of which have prioritized transparency and accountability over the confidentiality of executive branch communications."
    Details
  • URL
  • Author
    Garvey, Todd
  • Publisher
    Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
  • Report Number
    CRS Legal Sidebar, LSB10802
  • Date
    5 Aug, 2022
  • Copyright
    Public Domain
  • Retrieved From
    Congressional Research Service: crsreports.congress.gov/
  • Format
    pdf
  • Media Type
    application/pdf
  • Subjects
    Transparency in government--Law and legislation
    Transparency in government
    Executive privilege (Government information)
    Executive departments--Law and legislation
    Executive-legislative relations
  • Resource Group
    Reports (CRS)
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