Opinions
Constitutionality of the Federal Advisory Committee Act
Without reaching definitive conclusions, this memorandum considers three constitutional questions raised by the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
First, is it within Congress’s constitutional powers to regulate advisory committees in general and presidential advisory committees in particular?
Second, even if Congress can regulate advisory committees, may it regulate those committees giving advice to the President without violating the separation of powers?
Third, even if Congress may regulate those committees giving advice to the President, may the President except certain committees from certain regulations because of executive privilege?
FOIA Appeal from Denial of Access to FBI COINTELPRO Files Regarding Professor Morris Starsky
As a matter of administrative discretion, the Department of Justice should grant the FOIA request of an attorney for the FBI’s COINTELPRO-New Left files regarding his client, a professor at Arizona State University and an active member of the Socialist Workers Party.
FOIA Exemption (7) is technically applicable to the withheld documents. However, like all of the exemptions, Exemption (7) is only discretionary, and should not be asserted unless such action is in the public interest. Assertion of the exemption is not recommended for these documents.
Presidential or Legislative Pardon of the President
Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.
If under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment the President declared that he was temporarily unable to perform the duties of the office, the Vice President would become Acting President and as such could pardon the President. Thereafter the President could either resign or resume the duties of his office.
Although as a general matter Congress cannot enact amnesty or pardoning legislation, because to do so would interfere with the pardoning power vested expressly in the President by the Constitution, it could be argued that a congressional pardon granted to the President would not interfere with the President’s pardoning power because that power does not extend to the President himself.